Risking it with a New Yorker
by notinuse4
Summary: Kurt and Blaine broke up five years ago. Kurt thought he had moved on, but when he is cast alongside Blaine in a Broadway Musical, he may have to risk it with a certain curly haired New Yorker...
1. Cast as Leads

**Welcome to my fic. Please review, I'm new to fanfiction writing and want to hear your comments about my story and characters, especially my OCs! **

**Thanks, enjoy chapter one!**

_Kurt and Blaine hugged goodbye at the airport terminal, Kurt with his bags packed and ready for a new life in New York. He was going to NYADA, the school of his dreams… But the boy of his dreams wasn't going with him_

"_I'll see you soon, okay? And I'll Skype you every night. I'm not saying goodbye, Kurt. I love you." Blaine whispered to Kurt, holding him in his arms and rubbing small circles into his back._

"_I love you too, Blaine. I just don't know how I'll get by without you with me every day."_

"_I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends to distract you…" He kissed Kurt lovingly on the nose and wiped away the tears that had begun to fall down his boyfriend's cheek. "I'll love you forever Kurt, never forget that."_

"_I won't."_

* * *

_*phone rings*_

"_Hello?"_

"_Kurt?"_

"_Blaine… Where the hell were you this weekend? I've been trying to get in touch with you for days!"_

"_I know, I'm so sorry but I had a History project to complete with Jason…"_

"_Jason is all you talk about now!"_

"_Kurt! It is not!"_

"_Blaine, do you like him?"_

"_What? Of course I do, he's my best friend!"_

"_No, do you _like _like him?"_

"_Kurt… Don't do this…"_

"_Blaine. Answer the question."_

"… _No. A little... Yes."_

"_I can't believe you, Blaine. You told me you'd love me forever."_

"_Kurt! I do, believe me I love you more than you can imagine, but I hardly get to see you anymore! Honestly, I tried to come visit you this weekend but I'm so behind on all my work and my dad confiscated my phone and laptop until it was done, and…"_

"_But you like him. You admitted it. You like Jason, as more than a friend."_

"_Kurt, please, I-"_

"_No, Blaine. I don't care. Don't call me again."_

_*end of phone call*_

"_Kurt…"_

* * *

"_Hey Kurt, how're you doing?" Michael strolled up the street to talk to Kurt, his friend in New York who he'd known for almost a year now._

"_I'm great, how about you?" Kurt looked up into Michael's eyes. They really were beautiful… _

"_Fantastic," He breathed, staring back at the shorter boy with the adorable elfin features. "Listen Kurt, do you… I mean, um… Do you want to go out with me on Friday night?" Michael looked deeply into Kurt's eyes and Kurt felt his heart skip a beat._

"_Yes! I'd love to! How about that new restaurant on 54th street?" He smiled up at the dreamy taller boy. _

"_That sounds great! See you then, I'll pick you up at eight?"_

"_Great!" Kurt squeezed Michael's hands, and walked away, heart fluttering._

* * *

"_That food was delicious," said Michael when he and Kurt finished up after their first date. "Are you done?"_

"_Yeah, I don't think I can eat another bite. But it was fantastic… Thanks for taking me here tonight. Thanks for everything." He looked across the table at the beautiful man opposite him, and took his hand in his own._

"_I really enjoyed tonight. I enjoy being with you all the time, Kurt. And I hope I get to spend even more time with you…"_

"_Me too…" Kurt whispered, leaning closer to Michael, both men absolutely mesmerised by each other._

_Their lips met softly, timidly at first, but as the kiss deepened it was as though fireworks were going off all around them. A fire spread through Kurt's body, making his heart go wild and making him feel dizzy. When they pulled back, both men had ridiculous smiles on their faces, and they knew that they had found someone they could love for a very long time._

* * *

Kurt had just got off the phone with his agent and his head was spinning… He had got the part in the latest musical he had auditioned for, '_Risking it with a New Yorker'_, and he should feel ecstatic. It was the first part he'd gotten in while, and he knew that Michael, his boyfriend of almost four years, would be really pleased too. There was just one problem; he had been cast alongside Blaine Anderson.

He hadn't spoken to Blaine at all for over five years. They had been together for two years during high school, during which time they had thought they were madly in love and would be together forever. But, after Kurt went to NYADA, they grew apart and hardly saw each other; both making new friends and arguing more often, eventually breaking up when Blaine began to have feelings for someone else and even admitting it to Kurt. Kurt didn't get another serious boyfriend for over a year, during which time he grew closer and closer to his friend Michael, the tall dark and handsome guy he had met waiting for the subway. They were coming up to their four-year anniversary now, and Kurt was becoming a big name on Broadway. Michael also owned a small Italian restaurant in which he was head chef, so they were both doing what they loved and living a happy life together.

Hearing Blaine's name had brought back many memories to Kurt – both good and bad. Memories of duets in the Warbler's Hall at Dalton. Memories of going to prom – once becoming Prom Queen, and once escorting a very bushy haired Blaine to a dinosaur prom. Memories of saying goodbye at the airport, and feeling like his world had been turned upside down… Then they started getting more negative. Memories of Skype dates going wrong. Memories of missing Blaine so much that he would just curl up and cry. Then the worse feeling of not missing Blaine that much at all and feeling guilty. And finally, the memory of their break up.

There was no doubt that Blaine still held a special place in Kurt's heart – he was his first love, his first kiss, his first time… His first break up. But now Kurt had Michael. Michael was amazing; he was always so kind and caring. He knew exactly how to cheer Kurt up when he was upset, how to calm him down if he was worried or stressed. He had put up with Kurt moaning over not getting roles, and gloating about getting leads. Kurt had supported him in opening his own restaurant, and they had bought an apartment together on the upper west side. Their lives were comfortable, and Kurt could easily see himself spending the rest of his life with Michael.

So why did the name Blaine Anderson still affect him so much? They had been in love once, but it didn't work out. It was over, and it had been for a long time. But how was Kurt supposed to just go from not talking to him at all, to working alongside him every day for the next six months? The musical was about a two gay men in New York – played by Kurt and Blaine. They would have to play people falling in love… But they were broken up. They weren't in love any more.

Were they?

"Kurt! I'm home!" Michael came in through the door to their apartment, interrupting Kurt's inner conflicts. He hung up his jacket and kicked off his shoes, then threw himself down on the sofa beside Kurt. Kurt moved to lie against his boyfriend's chest and they snuggled down on the sofa, both deep in thought. After lying there for a few minutes, Michael spoke again, "What are you so quiet for? Long day?" He stroked Kurt's hair gently and twined their fingers together.

Kurt sighed in response, "I got the part in that musical I auditioned for last week…"

"What? That's great honey!" Michael leaned down and pecked Kurt on the lips, "Why aren't you bouncing around the room right now then?"

"… I've been cast alongside Blaine. Blaine Anderson. My ex-boyfriend from High School." He looked up at Michael and searched his eyes for his response. Michael looked thoughtful, and then decided to respond in his typical understanding way.

"Kurt, if you feel uncomfortable with it, you don't have to accept the part. I know our money from the restaurant isn't much, but it's enough. Don't feel like you have to do anything that you're not completely happy with. I know you two were quite serious once… It will be hard for you to work with him."

"I know… But I really wanted to be in that musical! It looks like it'll be fantastic. Plus it'll be great for my career and you know that we need some more money…" Kurt sighed again and snuggled closer to Michael. "I thought I'd never have to see him again. It's going to be so awkward!"

"Look, I'm sure it won't be awkward at all. You have me now, and I bet he'll have his own boyfriend too. You'll only be working together for a few months, and you haven't seen him for years! Your lives are so different now, everything will be fine. I promise." He captured Kurt's lips again, and Kurt melted under the soothing words and touch of his boyfriend.

"I love you so much, do you know that?"

Michael chuckled, "I know, you tell me everyday. And I love you too."


	2. It's Good to See You

**Thanks to everyone who read/favourited/alerted/reviewed chapter 1, each time it was like getting a little hug (And I LOVE hugs!)**

**Sorry I took so long updating but exams and revision have kept me busy this week. This chapter is a lot longer too, just over 6,000 words, so hopefully you'll forgive me.**

**A note – I have never been to New York or even the USA so I may just be completely wrong on the entire way of life there, with streets and the theatre etc… Please tell me if anything is drastically wrong or if you have any advice on how I can improve this story for you. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_You make me feel like I'm living a _

_Teenage Dream the way you turn me on _

_I can't speak lets run away and _

_Don't ever look back don't ever look back_

Kurt grumbled and rubbed his eyes groggily as his alarm rang out into the bedroom. Wait, when had he changed his alarm to Teenage Dream? He hadn't even listened to that song for years, not since…

He rolled over and switched off the alarm, mentally shaking himself to stop thinking about the person he associated so greatly with that song. The person who he would be seeing, talking to, rehearsing with, today for the first time in over five years. Kurt was genuinely very worried about it, what if Blaine was horrible to him for breaking up with him? What if he was really upset about seeing him again? Or worse, what if he didn't even remember Kurt?

Kurt heard Michael moving and stretching in the bed next to him, then mumble something inaudible and snuggle back into the duvet. "Come on, sleepy head. You've got to get to work soon…" Kurt gently rubbed Michael's back to wake him.

"No, no work today. Just cuddles." Michael protested, pulling Kurt down at an awkward angle into his warm embrace, and nuzzling into Kurt's neck. Kurt laughed but struggled away from the sleepy man. "Unngghhh…." Moaned Michael when Kurt finally broke free and began pulling him up.

"Come on, chef sleepy. You've got to make me my breakfast! I have a long day ahead of me today…"

"Oh yeah, today's the first day of Risking It rehearsals isn't it? Good luck." Finally sitting up and acting like the grown man he was, Michael got out of bed and padded out of the bedroom after Kurt. "If you have any trouble with Blaine, just call me okay?"

"Yeah I will hun. But if he gives me any trouble you know I'll just turn into the fabulous diva I am at heart." Kurt winked at Michael and proceeded into the bathroom to shower. As the hot water hit his skin, he rolled his shoulders and neck, trying to relax his tense muscles. The truth was, Kurt didn't know what he would do if Blaine was nasty to him. Although, he seriously doubted Blaine could ever even do that – he was much too kind and sweet and adorable…

_Stop. _Kurt mentally slapped himself. _You and Blaine are nothing. He was basically cheating on you. He doesn't care about you any more. _But every time Kurt tried to think of this, he just thought back to the incident in his senior year with Chandler, and how he had thought it was ridiculous that Blaine could ever think he was cheating. He knew that it was a very different situation, but the principal was the same wasn't it? Was Kurt wrong to break up with Blaine back then?

Sighing, Kurt decided to take his mind off of the subject of Blaine by getting out of the shower and starting his extensive moisturising and styling routine in front of the steamy mirror. _It was five years ago, snap out of it!_

When he was finally done, he dressed and went into the kitchen of his small New York apartment to see what Michael had made for breakfast. "Mmm smells great! What is- Oh my god." Kurt stared down at the plate, a smile cracking across his face. Michael had made him a smiley breakfast – two eggs for eyes, mushrooms for hair, and long sausage nose, and three bacon strips arranged to make a mouth. "Michael… You're such a dork." But Kurt still gave his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek before sitting down at the table to dig into his favourite breakfast.

"I thought you could need some extra smile power today. Plus, it gave me an excuse to make bacon!" He grinned as he sat down and began devouring his plate that was currently overflowing with bacon and eggs. "Gah, I wuv bagon…" He mumbled as he shovelled more and more into his mouth.

"Okay, slow down tiger! I swear you're still a teenager at heart. And at stomach." Kurt laughed, and the couple finished their breakfasts in a happy silence. When he was done, Kurt got up and dumped his plate in the sink, kissed Michael goodbye, and stepped out the door. He decided to leave early so he had time to walk and clear his head a little before meeting Blaine again.

Upon arriving at the theatre, the first thing he did was check his phone for the time. 9:44 it said; he was sixteen minutes early. He decided to grab a coffee from the theatre café before heading into the auditorium where the cast and crew were to meet at 10. He settled back in his chair in the café, sipping his coffee and staring out onto the street in front of the theatre. He observed a couple sitting on a bench across the road, feeding each other doughnuts for breakfast. The guy, a scarf round his neck and hat on his head, had his arms around his girlfriend and they were snuggling and giggling, obviously very in love. He got some sugar off the top of her doughnut on her nose as he tried to offer her another bite, and he kissed it off. They were very sweet together, and looked as though they had been together a while and were very happy. Kurt continued watching as the guy stood up, kissed the girl and walked across the street towards the theatre.

Then his heart stopped and his eyes widened. _Is that? _As the guy got to the theatre door he took off his hat and scarf. Once removed, a curly head of dark hair, a cute face, scruffy short beard, and triangular eyebrows were revealed. _BLAINE? _Blaine looked around the theatre, spotted the café, and walked up to order a coffee too. "Medium drip coffee please. And could you put in a bit of cinnamon for flavour please? Thanks." He paid for his order then sat down at the other end of the café and took out his phone. He glanced up, then his eyes widened. He had spotted Kurt.

Blaine looked as though he would come over, and Kurt watched him intently from across the room. But then, he just got up and went to get his coffee from the desk, and walked quickly through to the auditorium, still about five minutes early. Kurt was surprised, and a little hurt. Why didn't Blaine come and speak to him? He had obviously recognised him; did he really hate him that much?

Kurt downed the rest of his coffee, and walked through the auditorium too. Before he could find Blaine again though, Mr Sands the director was calling everybody over to the front of the stage. Kurt took a seat at the edge of the second row of seats, scanning the rows of people for Blaine's familiar curly head. He spotted him at the other end of the row, staring intently at Mr Sands who was standing on the stage. He was chewing his lip nervously.

"Hello everyone, welcome to our first rehearsal for Risking It with a New Yorker!" Everyone clapped at this and some people cheered, and then Mr Sands continued, "Okay so we have a lot of work to do over the next couple of weeks. I hope we can all get on well today and get this musical going with a bang! For those of you who don't know, dressing rooms can be found through that door, main roles have individual rooms and minor roles and background performers will all have rooms in groups. Please go through and sort out your space, then can I have Mr Anderson and Mr Hummel, our two leads, back here in five minutes. Thanks everyone." When he was done talking, everyone got up and started head through the doors he had indicated to find their dressing rooms. Kurt basically ran down the corridor to find his own, and he rolled his eyes in annoyance when finding that his was opposite Blaine's. _Well, we are gonna have to work together after all… Can't really avoid it… _

He tried to open the door to get inside quickly, before Blaine caught up to him, but found that it was locked. Typical. "Damn!" Kurt exclaimed, rattling the handle in frustration. He spun on his heel to find someone who would have the key, and walked almost straight into Blaine Anderson.

"…Kurt."

"Blaine."

"… It's uh, it's good to see you again."

"Yep." Kurt knew he was being rude, and was looking anyway but directly at Blaine. Blaine, however, was looking right into Kurt's eyes, mouth slightly agape. "Are you okay? You're kind of staring."

"Oh, uh, sorry," He quickly looked away and licked his lips. "Is your room locked or something?"

"Yes, I need to go get the key." Kurt replied, and walked straight past Blaine and down the corridor without so much as looking at him. He felt awful, he knew he was being an ass, but he just couldn't deal with Blaine like that. Not that quickly. It was hard enough seeing him again.

But that was the problem, why was it hard? Kurt had Michael, he was in love with Michael and Michael loved him back. He hadn't even seen Blaine for five years, they should both just be able to get on with what they were doing and not feel uncomfortable at all.

Blaine meanwhile, had sunk back against the wall once Kurt had left, heart racing. _How does he do that to me? _He thought, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. As soon as he had seen Kurt in the café, spotted those beautiful blue eyes staring at him, his world had turned upside down. He had thought that he would be able to cope easily, after all they hadn't seen each other in so long and _Kurt _had broken up with _him. _He obviously didn't have feelings for him anymore. Plus, he was now dating Millie, who was kind and funny and sweet and pretty… But she was no Kurt Hummel. She couldn't make Blaine's heart go wild with one look, couldn't make him forget everything else with her smile. And he wasn't even very sexually attracted to her. He had been going out with girls for the past five years, trying to forget Kurt, but it turns out that nothing would work. Blaine didn't think he could ever date another guy though – Kurt was the only man for him, but he didn't love Blaine back.

Blaine sighed, heaved himself away from the wall, and turned the handle to his dressing room. Luckily, his wasn't locked so he stepped right in and took a look around.

Kurt, after getting the key off of a flustered costume department member, went back towards his dressing room. He actually peered round the corner before stepping into the corridor, to make sure that Blaine wasn't still out there. _This is ridiculous, _he thought, s_uck it up, Hummel. You're playing the gay leads in a freaking Broadway Musical, get over yourself! _

* * *

After sorting out his dressing room, paying particular attention to his wardrobe, Kurt made his way back to the auditorium, to find that Mr Sands was there but no Blaine yet. Kurt sighed a little; at least things would be less awkward with Mr Sands there to act as a barrier between Kurt and Blaine.

"Ah, Kurt, just take a seat for now while we wait for Blaine, I just need to talk to you both about the characters you'll be playing, you know, let you get to know them a bit more? Then I thought you could do some improvisation exercises to help you get to know Blaine a little better." Mr Sands smiled at Kurt, clearly oblivious to the fact that Kurt was cringing internally.

_Oh, you have no idea how much I already know Blaine… _"Sure thing, Mr Sands." Kurt smiled brightly and plonked himself down in one of the beautifully comfy theatre seats.

"Please, call me John. I think 'Mr Sands' could get a little tiresome after six months, eh Kurt?" John smiled, and Kurt was happy that he was directing this play. He seemed pretty cool.

"Hi you two, sorry I took so long… I locked myself in the bathroom by mistake…" Blaine scurried in to the auditorium, and glanced at the seat next to Kurt. Seeming to think twice, he sat down three seats away from him and looked up to John inquisitorially. "So, what are we here for?"

"Oh I was just saying to Kurt, I'm going to tell you a little more about your characters and then let you do some improv so you can warm to each other a little bit. I know how awkward it can be at first when meeting a complete stranger and being told you are to perform with them as if you're in love!"

_Yeah… complete strangers… _thought Kurt, but he just smiled and tried to keep his eyes off Blaine, he was just itching to scan his eyes over him properly, get a good look at what he'd become.

"So… Kurt, you're playing the role of Jason Hull, a twenty four year old that has just moved to the big city of New York. You like to act pretty confident and sure of yourself, but really everything about New York scares you. You aren't used to the busy streets, the traffic, and the general energy of city life. You think it's all going to be too much, until you meet one Mr Reece Parker. Reece is a typical New Yorker, he loves the city with all his heart, is exciting and quirky, and completely different to everything that Jason is. He's eager to help Jason out in starting his new life in the city, so offers him a job in his record label. Jason ends up really enjoying his job as a talent scout, and decides to 'Risk it with a New Yorker', asking Reece out on a date. Reece is reluctant at first, but with Jason around so much, he finds himself falling in love. Their relationship grows, and then hits a pitfall when Mark, one of the performers that the company has just hired, starts putting the moves on Jason – Reece is not happy. But they resolve it, blah blah blah, and it's all a happy ending. Got it? Think you guys can pull it off?"

Both men glanced at each other, both contemplating silently. Finally, Kurt piped up, "Gee, I don't know. Think you'll be able to fall in love with this Jason guy, Blaine?" He looked pointedly at Blaine and raised his eyebrows.

"Kurt..." Blaine blushed and swallowed, then looked up at John, took a deep breath and said, "I think we'll be awesome."

"Great," said John, clapping his hands together and grinning. He then turned back to Blaine and added, "Hey, I was going to ask you also, are you sure you're comfortable with the whole straight-guy-playing-a-gay-guy thing? Because I need total chemistry for this musical to work and if you're not going to be comfortable…"

Kurt's head snapped up, _OH YEAH! _He had totally forgotten about what he'd seen from the window of the theatre café. What the hell was Blaine doing? Was he bi? _I thought we went through this with Rachel back in High School… _

Blaine looked deeply uncomfortable and looked at Kurt nervously, then answered, "Oh I don't think I'll have any problems there."

"Great. Glad to hear it guys! So, jump up onto the stage, and let's see… Improv improv improv… Okay, I want you guys to pretend you're in a coffee shop, on your first date. I don't care what you talk about, just talk, and let's see some sparks fly!"

Kurt groaned internally, but put on his brave face and stepped up onto the stage eagerly. _Better start somewhere… _He thought, and looked across to Blaine. They were both adults, they were both actors, they could handle this. They just had to imagine that they really were on their first date, back in High School in Ohio…

_It was a normal day at Dalton Academy. Well, it seemed normal, but nobody knew that in fact, two boys had shared a beautiful experience the day before, and both were thinking of each other as they strolled down the corridors. Kurt turned a corner, and walked almost straight into the beautiful boy with whom he had shared his first kiss with the day before. (Well, the first one that counted.) Kurt sighed happily as he saw the shorter boy's face light up at the sight of him, and grin that gorgeous smile that seemed to make the room instantly brighter._

"_Kurt," Blaine breathed, still smiling like a dork up at Kurt, "How are you?"_

"_Fine… Amazing, actually," replied Kurt, equally as breathless._

"_Great! Hey, I was wondering, would you like to go out with me after school? You know like, on a- a date? You don't have to if you don't want to, I was just thinking, you know, after yesterday, but-"_

"_Blaine! Yes, of course I would love to! Now stop stuttering like a fool, people are staring." Kurt smiled down at Blaine, who was now self consciously looking around the room._

"_Great! So, Lima Bean?"_

"_Sure, I'll drive us both there if you want."_

"_Awesome, see you then!"_

…

_The two boys sat at their table in the Lima Bean and chatted animatedly about Dalton, Glee, Fashion, and themselves, never having awkward silences or not knowing what to say. They gelled together so well, and even though they had known each other for a while by then, they felt as though they were learning all about each other all over again. They laughed at each other's jokes, listened to each other's stories, and generally enjoyed each other's company until they had to leave and get some homework done. _

"_Oh my gosh, it's almost 5:30!" Kurt looked down at his watch in alarm then sighed. "Ugh, I don't want this date to ever end…"_

"_I know what you mean. Come on, I'll walk you to your car." Blaine winked at Kurt and they walked out arm in arm, and across the street to where Kurt was parked. "This was a lovely date. It was simple yet effective."_

"_Ha, you sound like Wes when he talks about the Warblers' choreography," laughed Kurt, "But I agree, simplicity is definitely the way to go."_

_Blaine looked intently at Kurt as they stood next to the driver's side door, neither wanting to let go of the other and go home. "Well… since simplicity has been voted our favourite method…" He leaned close to Kurt, "I'm simply going to kiss you now…"_

_Their lips met softly at first, then crushed together a little harder, Blaine's hand moving up to cup Kurt's face. It was as soft and beautiful and, well, simple as their first kiss, but they each enjoyed it just as much. They pulled back, grinning, and said their goodbyes. As Kurt sat in the car, he watched Blaine stroll off in all his dapperness, hands loosely in his pockets, whistling and almost skipping down the street. Kurt couldn't help but let his heart flutter madly as he watched the boy he was falling in love with walk away after their perfectly simple and simply perfect first date._

When they finished acting out their scene, of course replacing their names with the names of their characters and replacing 'school' with 'work' etc, both Kurt and Blaine were a little shocked at each other. They had both done it perfectly from memory, repeating that afternoon from six years ago as if it had been yesterday. It was surprising how easy it was to slip back into their routine, how easy it was to act as though they were still in High School and still the old Kurt and Blaine.

But they weren't the same. Kurt had Michael, and was happy in his new life. He really was. And Blaine had… whoever the girl was. Kurt had no idea what the hell was going on with that, but Blaine had looked happy with her earlier that day. They were just really great actors – that was it, just really getting into the scene.

"Wow, guys, that was amazing! It was like you both knew exactly what the other would do all through that, and the chemistry you two have – just wow. Great job. I don't think we really need to run another exercise, you two are clearly comfortable around each other already, so why don't you two head back to you dressing rooms for a bit. I need to run the first scene with my dancers before I put you two and the other actors in." John gestured for them to leave, and as they walked down the corridor back to their dressing rooms, Kurt and Blaine both felt odd. Like they were comfortable but uncomfortable at the same time. It was as though they had both realised that they _had _dated for ages, each thinking that the other was the love of their life, so it was obvious for them to be comfortable. But at the same time, it was awkward for the same reasons. They had _dated. _They thought they were going to be together forever, but it hadn't worked out.

"So…" started Blaine, clearly wanting to talk to Kurt about something – _anything, _just to get them out of the silence.

"Blaine, I have to ask you something," started Kurt, surprised at his own forwardness. "Why are you pretending to be straight?"

Blaine's eyes widened, and he looked at the ground blushing furiously. One of the costume ladies looked up from where she was sitting in a corner, a pile of gold dresses surrounding her, her eyebrows raised. "Look, can we, uh, talk about this somewhere more private? My dressing room?"

"Sure," sighed Kurt, "But I _am _going to get a straight answer out of you, Blaine Warbler."

Blaine was a little surprised at that name, _Blaine Warbler; _no-one had called him that in years. They walked into Blaine's dressing room, and Blaine gestured for Kurt to take a seat on the small couch in the centre of the room. Blaine took a deep breath and sat down next to Kurt, lips pursed and fingers laced nervously.

"So?" Pushed Kurt, eyebrows raised. Blaine noticed that Kurt was perched on the edge of the sofa, as if trying to remain as far away from Blaine as possible. _Oh yeah, _thought Blaine, _he still hates me._

"Look, don't laugh, okay? The thing is, after High School, well, after we broke up, I uh…" He cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter, "Well, I guess I just realised that perhaps I was wrong, you know? I met this girl, Amber, and we hit it off straight away and, well, I guess I was just going through a phase in High School." Blaine looked a little sheepish as he searched Kurt's face for a hint as to what his reaction would be. He jumped a little when he realised that Kurt's eyes were sparkling; he was welling up. "Kurt? Are you, are you _crying?"_

"What? No, I just, I guess I'm kind of disappointed." Kurt sighed and looked away.

Disappointed? "Disappointed?" Blaine asked, confused. Did this mean Kurt wanted to get back together?

"Yeah, I always looked up to you in High School because you were so… You know, Out. You were out and proud and so sure of who you were, I really admired you for it. And now you just turn around and say it was 'a phase'? Yeah, I'm a little disappointed." Kurt bit his lip and looked away with a small sniff.

"Kurt, I-" Blaine didn't know how to end that sentence. _I'm lying_, he thought, but he couldn't tell Kurt that. "I'm sorry, I really am. I had no idea you looked up to me so much." He put a hand on Kurt's knee, but Kurt recoiled at the contact so Blaine pulled away. He thought it was odd that Kurt would flinch away; they had been much more physical than that a lot of times before. Heck, they'd kissed not ten minutes ago!

The truth was, Kurt was embarrassed. Extremely embarrassed. He had led himself to believe, in High School, that he and Blaine were in love, that they were Soulmates. But that was just a blip? That couldn't be true. "But what about Jason?" Kurt asked, the question coming out almost in a whisper.

"Jason? Oh, Jason… Well, he actually moved back to England not long after you and I broke up. Nothing ever really happened between us. He was the last guy I ever thought I had had… feelings for, you know? After that I started realising that maybe I was straight after all." He looked at Kurt apologetically. Kurt still looked a little upset. "Is there anything else bothering you? You still look kind of depressed…"

"What about us, Blaine?" The question surprised even Kurt; he hadn't meant to say that out loud. Blaine looked confused, so Kurt elaborated; "What if we'd stayed together, and then you realised that you were, you know, straight? Would you have just left me?"

"I… I don't know." Blaine answered honestly; he couldn't answer that question because he would never truly know what it felt like to be completely straight. He was really happy with his girlfriend now, and totally comfortable around her, after all, Blaine had always said that you 'fall in love with the person, not the gender'.

Kurt wanted to change the subject, so he asked the first thing that popped into his head. "So, who's your girlfriend? What's she like?" He sounded as though he was trying to sound interested, but Blaine could tell he was still a little miffed. He tried to answer as gently as possible.

"Millie? Oh, she's great. She's kind, and smart, and she has the most adorable little habits, like when she feels a little embarrassed or awkward she screws up her nose like a little bunny and…" Blaine faded away, looking at Kurt's horribly sad face. He cleared his throat, "Yeah, she really is awesome." _But nothing like you, Kurt… _

"Well, I'm glad you two are happy."

"We are, the relationship's still quite new, just coming up to our three-month-iversary, but I really think we have something special." Blaine smiled reassuringly at Kurt, and then suddenly thought, "Hey, what about you? How's your current love life?" Blaine regretted asking this as soon as the words had slipped off of his tongue. He really didn't want to know if Kurt had a boyfriend. If he had moved on when Blaine hadn't, at least not fully. Or worse, what if he was married?

"Well, I have a gorgeous and lovely boyfriend named Michael. We met while I was at NYADA; he went to NYU and did a cookery course and a chef apprenticeship. He owns a little restaurant now, it's not too flashy but he really loves it. We've been together just over four years now, actually."

Blaine stared at the way Kurt's eyes lit up and his expression softened as he spoke about Michael. _Four years… _thought Blaine, which meant they were serious. Like, really serious. He sighed, and put on his best 'I'm-happy-for-you' look. "Wow… Four years, huh? So… You two are like, really serious then. Are you going to get married?" Damn it, Blaine, cut out this verbal diarrhoea! _Why did you ask him that…? _

"Married? I don't know… I think he'd like to, but I'm quite happy the way we are, you know? We're… comfortable."

"But is comfortable really enough for a relationship? Shouldn't you be exciting and eager and falling in love more everyday for a relationship to really prosper?" Blaine stared at Kurt, who was looking a little offended. "Sorry… That just kind of, slipped out…" He bit his lip and looked away again.

"No… I get what you mean. But, after four years you do just slip into a kind of comfy area. Don't get me wrong, I love it, I love him… So much. I think excitement would be too much after all this time, you know? That could get equally as boring." Kurt argued back to Blaine, who now was looking a little ruffled.

_I love him… So much. _That's what Kurt just said. About Michael. _He used to love me… _thought Blaine, but he pulled himself out of it quickly, and mumbled a brief agreement with what Kurt had said. But the only thing he could hear was those three words echoing around his head: _I love him. _

But Blaine wanted to get Kurt to change that last word to something else.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent working mainly on the opening number to the show. It was an upbeat, catchy song, and Kurt found himself humming it as he unlocked the door to his and Michael's apartment.

He opened the door, and was immediately bombarded by an overgrown child grabbing him around the waist. "Quick!" yelled Michael, dragging Kurt through to the living room, "Come on, it's starting!"

"Michael! God damn it, what are you talking about? If-" but he was cut off by Michael shushing him. He flicked through the channels at light speed, until he stopped on the local news channel. "News? What the hell Michael since when do you get excited about the _news?" _Kurt was cut off again by Michael holding up his hand. He dropped the remote on the coffee table and leapt across the room, landing with a thump next to Kurt. "You're such a child, Mikey…" Kurt said fondly, using the nickname for Michael he used when he was in a particularly silly mood.

Just then, he realised what Michael was so excited about. A picture of Michael's restaurant was being shown on the screen, along with a smaller picture of Michael shaking hands with an important looking man in the corner of the screen. Michael was grinning so widely it looked like his face was about to split in two, and Kurt had to strain his ears over Michael's squealing to hear what the news reader was saying.

"… _Mr Hamish Crawford, one of New York's toughest food critics, was very impressed with Michael Bearbury's service and food quality, at his restaurant, 'Humbury House Contemporary American Cuisine'. Bearbury was awarded Crawford's coveted Platinum Standard plaque earlier today, to commemorate his fine work in the restaurant."_

Kurt looked at Michael, eyes wide, and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Oh, Mikey! I'm so proud of you honey!" He looked into Michael's gleaming eyes, and then pulled him into a bone-crushing kiss. He pulled back for just a moment, and then went in for another kiss. Michael was surprised, but kissed back, hands roaming over Kurt's slender body, then up into his hair. Michael was shocked, normally Kurt would have a go at him for messing up his hair, but instead he just pushed Michael back down to lie on his back, not breaking their lips apart at all. The kiss deepened, and Michael was revelling in the moment by twining his fingers into Kurt's soft and luscious hair, pulling on it slightly. This caused Kurt to elicit a small moan, and break their lips apart for a second, both panting for much needed air. Kurt brushed his lips softly against Michael's once more, and then Michael whispered "I love you…" and closed the distance between their lips again.

They remained like that on the sofa for about another ten minutes, and by the time they were done and sat up, both men were a little shell-shocked and breathless. Michael sighed and raised his eyebrows at Kurt. "Well that was… hot. And, unexpected. What was that all for? Not that I'm complaining of course, I loved every second." Michael winked at Kurt and leaned back on the sofa, wrapping his arm around Kurt.

Kurt leaned against Michael, snuggling into his chest as he flicked through the movie channels, looking for a decent film to watch, and replied, "I'm just really happy for you. The 'coveted Platinum Standard plaque', eh?" He grinned up at Michael, who was looking very pleased with himself. "Plus, I thought we could use a little… excitement."

Michael looked down at Kurt just then, "Excitement? Aren't I usually exciting enough for you?" he raised his eyebrows and smirked at Kurt, who was blushing.

"You know what I mean… I love you, you know I do, but sometimes I feel like we're an old married couple or something. I just wanted something more… exciting."

"You mean like, _sexually _exciting?" Michael grinned cheekily at Kurt, saying the word 'sexually' in a deep, growling voice.

Kurt hit Michael playfully on the shoulder, "Trust you to make a completely sensitive, sweet conversation into a dirty one…" He rolled his eyes, but gave Michael another peck on the lips.

"Sorry, I was just trying to be _exciting_." Michael grinned at Kurt, knowing that he'd won this one. "Ooooh look, Watership Down is on! I love that movie!"

Kurt frowned at Michael, "Love it? How can you love that movie? It's a morbid movie about little bunny rabbits getting dug up and killed! It's horrible!"

"I think it's cute! It has a happy ending after all…"

"Yeah, after half of them have been gruesomely murdered…"

"Pleeeeeeaassee…" Whined Michael, pulling his best pouty face at Kurt, who rolled his eyes and clicked onto the channel. "Yay! Oh, we haven't missed too much!" He smiled and settled back against the cushions, holding Kurt against him in a warm embrace. They sat like that watching the movie for a while, until Michael suddenly jumped. "Oh! I forgot to ask how your first rehearsal went! Sorry about that, how was it?"

Kurt sighed, thinking back to what a confusing day it had been. Blaine turning up with a girlfriend, then kissing Kurt onstage, and then announcing to Kurt that he was straight… Meanwhile there had been the usual confused stress of a first rehearsal, things going too slow, people going wrong in dances, songs sounding out of tune and broken… "It wasn't too bad. But it was INCREDIBLY awkward seeing Blaine again. Can you believe, he's decided he's straight!"

"What? Didn't you two date for like two years?" Michael looked shocked, turning away form the TV to stare at Kurt.

"Yeah, then we broke up because we grew apart and he said he had feelings for this other guy… But apparently the other guy moved to England, and Blaine just realised one day that he wasn't gay, saying it was just a 'blip'." Kurt looked down at his hands.

"Whoa… That's really odd, Kurt. Are you sure you're okay?" Michael lifted up Kurt's face to look him in the eye.

"What? Yeah, of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? It's him that's having the sexuality issues here, not me."

"Yeah I know but, you really looked up to him, didn't you?" Michael smiled at Kurt's surprised expression. "I remember when you told me all about your first love, Blaine Anderson… The lead, uh, Whistler was it?"

Kurt laughed, "Warbler."

"Oh yeah. You said you thought he was an 'Alpha Gay', and that you loved how confident he was in himself." Kurt looked embarrassed at this, and Michael just smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I understand. He was your first everything, first kiss, first boyfriend, first time… He's obviously going to hold a very special place in your heart. And now it turns out that he's straight, so it can't have meant as much to him as it did to you. You feel like you've been… betrayed by him. Like he didn't care about all of those amazing experiences at all."

Kurt looked in wonder at Michael; he really did have an amazing boyfriend. "I love you so much, Michael… You're always just so understanding and… Mikey. You're just Mikey. Thank you."

Michael smiled and held Kurt a little closer, refocusing on the TV. "Any time, Kurt. I love you too."

Kurt and Michael sat on the couch through Watership Down, and then walked stiffly to their bedroom and slept the whole night in each other's arms.

Meanwhile, Blaine Anderson lay awake, alone, in his apartment on the other side of the city. He stared up at the ceiling blankly, unable to get the face of one blue-eyed, elfin-featured man out of his head.

* * *

**Thanks for reading chapter 2! Review please please please I would love to know what you think of the storyline, characters, and other general stuff so far!**

**x**


	3. Let the Drama begin

**Eeek! I cannot believe this story is on chapter three already! :D I honestly didn't expect more than maybe one or two people to read it when I posted the first chapter! Thanks again to everyone who has taken an interest in this fic, particularly reviewers. Your comments really help to improve this story.**

**A special shoutout to Rene95, my first reviewer and also gave me a really helpful review after chapter 2 I'll try and get some 'action and a bit of cheating' in the story at some point specially for you ;)**

**This chapter is a lot more musical, and I've taken some artistic license in a version of 'Sami' by Darren Criss, let me know what you think. I just thought the lyrics were perfect for what Blaine is going through.**

**So, without further ado, on to chapter 3!**

* * *

_Share my life, take me for what I am_

_'cause I'll never change all my colours for you_

_Take my love, I'll never ask for too much_

_Just all that you are, and everything that you do_

_I don't really need to look very much further_

_I don't wanna have to go where you don't follow_

_I won't hold it back again, this passion inside_

_Can't run from myself, there's nowhere to hide_

Kurt stood at the edge of the stage and belted out one of his many big ballads, projecting his voice right out to the back row where Mr Sands was sitting with his arms folded across his chest, looking contemplative. It was almost the end of the first week of rehearsals for _Risking It with a New Yorker, _or 'Risking It' as it was now being shortened to by cast and crew. He looked to his left, and saw Blaine walk on from the wings into a second spotlight and sing the chorus:

_Don't make me close one more door_

_I don't wanna hurt anymore_

_Stay in my arms if you dare_

_Or must I imagine you there?_

_Don't walk away from me_

_I have nothing, nothing, nothing_

_If I don't have you…_

_You, you you…_

They walked towards each other across the front of the stage, as they acted out Jason and Reece's romantic getting-back-together scene whilst singing the amazing and incredibly emotional song. This was the first time they'd ran the song through all the way properly, and they were both a little nervous about it. Kurt, because he was worried about what Mr Sands reaction to it would be. Kurt knew that this was one of the most important and emotional scenes in the whole musical, and if everything wasn't perfect, then all the drama and effectiveness would be lost.

Blaine however, was nervous for a very different reason. He was nervous because this song was just so _perfect _for how he felt at the moment. How he felt about Kurt and everything that had happened five years ago… What if Kurt noticed? What if he could see how much it meant to Blaine, and got angry or upset? What if he realised that Blaine was lying? He'd hate him even more then… What if…?

Blaine snapped out of his inner turmoil when the music stopped all of a sudden. His eyes snapped into focus, and when they focused on Kurt, he was looking at Blaine with a confused and questioning look on his face. "Blaine?" He raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, "Care to join me in this duet?"

Blaine just looked even more confused at this, and his mouth flapped open and shut like a fish's. He had been singing, hadn't he?

Mr Sands spoke into a microphone from where he was sitting at the back of the auditorium, and his voice came booming out of the speaker next to Blaine. "Blaine, you missed you cue. Remember you join in with Kurt on the second chorus? You were just kind of… stood there."

"Oh," Blaine hadn't even noticed this, was he really that phased out? "I'm sorry, John. I was kind of… distracted."

"From the top guys."

They ran the scene six more times, thankfully Blaine didn't miss any more cues, then John told them they could go back to their dressing rooms for an hour or so as he needed to run a different scene which neither of them were in. They walked together off stage and out of the auditorium, but instead of turning towards the corridor which their dressing rooms were situated along, Kurt grabbed Blaine's arm and asked him something that caught Blaine totally off-guard.

"Hey do you want to go sit in the café or something for a bit? Grab a coffee? It gets boring sitting in our dressing rooms all alone sometimes." He looked at Blaine hopefully, who was a little shocked. Why was he inviting him for coffee? Didn't he hate Blaine?

"Oh, um… Sure. I could use a coffee actually." Blaine followed Kurt in the opposite direction to their dressing rooms and into the front café. He stepped up to the counter and asked for a medium drip for himself and Grande low-fat mocha for Kurt. Kurt looked surprised when Blaine ordered for him

"You remember my High School coffee order?" he raised a delicate eyebrow and smirked at Blaine. Who was looking a little embarrassed.

"Oh, well I uh, I just have a good memory, that's all. Do you still drink that? I guess I should have asked really…" He blushed and looked down.

"No, I still drink that. Although I haven't actually ordered a low-fat one for a while; Michael's always saying how I'm perfect the way I am and that I don't have to worry about fat… He's like that sometimes." Kurt had a glint in his eye and a fond smile playing around his lips, which made Blaine's heart sink just a little lower in his chest.

"Oh, right. So, uh, you really love Michael then?"

"Of course," Kurt answered without hesitation, "I have done for a long while time… But he still manages to amaze me every day. He always seems to know exactly what to do and say to me."

"That sounds nice…" the two sat in silence for a few minutes, as Blaine thought about how Kurt had always known what to do and say to _him, _and how nobody since then had really done that. None of them were anything like Kurt. Not one.

"How about you and Millie? You both looked really happy the other day when I saw you out there. I haven't seen her all this week…"

"Oh, I haven't actually seen her either. She's in California at the moment, on a girly holiday with a bunch of her friends. That's probably why we looked so snuggly the other day, I was actually saying goodbye to her." Blaine stared into his coffee, embarrassed. He and Millie were already starting to grow apart and they'd only been together a few weeks. He just couldn't gel with anybody like he did with Kurt… He didn't feel comfortable enough around any of them. He and Millie would probably end up splitting up when she got home. She'd dump him, just like all the others had. Just like Kurt had.

"Ooooh that sounds nice! I could really use a holiday… After this musical's over I'm going to take Michael kicking and screaming onto a plane and we're going somewhere warm and sunny, with sandy beaches, and I am going to tan this snow white skin of mine."

Blaine shook his head and looked at Kurt sternly, "Kurt, you know you can't tan, you'll just end up like a lobster!"

"Better than being a china doll"

"Kurt, your skin is beautiful and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise." Blaine bit his lip as soon as he said this… _Jeez did I really just call him beautiful? _Blaine really needed to get his foot-in-mouth disease cured.

Kurt just smiled a little shyly, "You think I'm beautiful?"

"Your skin, I said your _skin _was beautiful. You know, not that the rest of you isn't good looking too, you are. You're very good looking, but I don't see you that way anymore you know? You do have great skin though…" Blaine laughed awkwardly and rubbed his eyes. "I'm just gonna stop talking now…"

Kurt was laughing at Blaine, who was now blushing furiously. "Don't worry about it Blaine. I think your skin's beautiful too." Kurt was joking around, but Blaine still felt a twang of pain and regret go through his heart when Kurt said those words. What had he done? Why the hell did he ever let Kurt get away from him? He should tell him the truth. Tell him that he was still in love with him and that's the real reason why he hasn't gone out with another guy since Kurt. Not because he's straight, but because there's only room in his heart for one man. And that man is Kurt, whether Kurt reciprocates it or not.

Both Kurt and Blaine had finished their coffees by now, so they made their way back to the dressing rooms. As soon as Blaine shut his door, he shut his eyes and leant back against it, sighing loudly. He slid down the door until he was curled up at the base of it, head in his hands, and he just let himself fall apart. _Why am I doing this to myself? _Blaine couldn't believe himself. He had only been rehearsing for a week with Kurt, one week and that was enough to make him into this pathetic sobbing mess. _Why can't you see what you're doing to me, Kurt? _Blaine thought, and then suddenly had an idea. He got up slowly, and shuffled over to the other side of the room where his guitar was leaning against the coffee table. He picked it up and ran his hands up and down the neck affectionately. He sat on the arm of the sofa, plucking the strings gently and playing some soft chords. When he had gotten into a bit of a pattern, he started to put words to what he was saying.

_I've seen his face, __I've heard his name_

_I've lost my place and he's to blame__  
_

_And I can't stand it_

_When I'm staring in his eyes_

_And he's not looking back_

_It ain't a big surprise_

Blaine settled into the rhythm of the song, and was lost in thoughts of Kurt as he improvised the next verse.

_I've heard music, __I've heard noise_

_I wish that he could hear his voice _

_The way that I do_

_When I go to sleep at night_

_And dream my life away_

_But he's gone when I awake_

He lifted his voice just a little bit, not thinking or caring about who could hear him, and belted out the chorus as he strummed confidently on his guitar.

_Kurt, please _

_Kurt, please_

_Why can't you see_

_What you're doing to me?__  
_

Kurt looked up from the latest issue of _Vogue_ when he heard his name being called, no, _sang _from somewhere nearby. He got up and opened his door, looking up and down the corridor. His eyes widened as he realised that the music was coming from inside Blaine's room. He tiptoed across and laid an ear gently against Blaine's door, straining his ears to hear the song as well as he possibly could.

_The way his hair falls in his eyes_

_Makes me wonder __if he'll _

_Ever see through my disguise _

_And I'm under his spell_

_Everything is falling_

_But I don't know where to land_

_And he just knows where he is_

_But he don't know who I am_

_Kurt, please_

_Kurt, please _

_Why can't you see_

_What you're doing to me?_

_Oh my god, _thought Kurt, _he's singing about me… _Why would he do that? Kurt was confused and a little worried and very embarrassed. He hoped nobody else could hear this song, it sounded very private and even Kurt was ashamed of listening to it when obviously Blaine wouldn't want him to. He knew he shouldn't eavesdrop, but he was fascinated by Blaine's singing and playing. _He's even better when he's alone… _Kurt thought. _When he's just singing for himself. Not for me, or anybody else._

_I see you singing on that stage _

_You look just like an angel_

_And all I do is pray_

_That maybe_

_Someday you'll hear my song_

_And understand that all along_

_There's something more that I'm trying to say_

_When I say_

'Someday you'll hear my song'… Kurt blushed, _I'm hearing it now…  
_

_Kurt, please_

_Kurt, please _

_Why can't you see_

_What you're doing to me?_

Blaine sighed and laid his guitar down when he'd finished. He definitely felt better now, after releasing all his emotion on that song and just letting it out. He quickly jumped into songwriter-mode though, grabbing some paper to scrawl down what he could remember of the music and the lyrics. It had been quite a good song for an improv, and he could use it again perhaps. But the main reason why he wanted it written down was because maybe, one day, he could show it to Kurt. He could finally show him all the emotions and confused feelings he was experiencing right now, his life in turmoil since deciding to risk it with that blue-eyed New Yorker and audition for a role in the same play, when he had known that Kurt was auditioning and would _obviously _get the part.

Kurt tiptoed silently back into his dressing room, and sat down on the couch to think. He chewed his fingers nervously, what was he going to do about Blaine? He could confront him, and ask him what that song was about and why he was singing about Kurt. Or, he could just act like he hadn't heard it and leave Blaine to fight this battle alone, go back to the way he was before he had got cast in this goddam musical.

* * *

When Michael arrived at the restaurant that morning, he walked in to the kitchen, hung up his coat, put on his apron, and began setting up as usual. He walked back to the front door and turned the sign around so it read 'open', and saw a young man with wavy blonde hair running down the street, red-faced and flustered. Michael chuckled, trust Jason to be late -he was incredibly clumsy and awkward, and tardiness always seemed to go hand in hand with those qualities.

He bustled through the door, and almost walked right into Michael. Michael grabbed the shorter man's arms as he stumbled past him, and laughed again at the flustered young man. "Dear lord," said Jason in his adorable British accent. "I swear I'm such a dizzy blonde… Sorry I'm late Michael, I was on the phone to my mum, she just rang from England and wouldn't let me go…" He was looking nervous and awkward; he was still the new guy and trying to make Michael _not _fire him for being such a clutz.

"Don't worry about it, Jason. I only just got here myself." Michael smiled as Jason breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to the kitchen, tripping over his feet and having to grab onto the counter to steady himself before going through the door. Michael heard a clatter from inside, then an "I'm okay!" from within, followed by laughter emanating from his other colleagues. _How is he so adorable? _Thought Michael, making his way over to the kitchen too.

Throughout the day however, Michael began to realise that although Jason was incredibly clumsy, he was a master in the kitchen. He received many compliments for the food that Jason produced, and it looked fantastic. He not only managed to make delicious food, but he was efficient and got it all done without making the customers wait too long, and seemed to be a lot less clumsy when using kitchen utensils instead of something remarkably simpler like a door, or just walking. This was a relief to Michael; he didn't enjoy it when digits were lost in his kitchen, and had been a little concerned about what Jason's knife skills would turn out to be like.

At the end of a long day in his popular restaurant, which more people seemed to be flocking to after the previous day's news report, Michael pulled Jason to the side to speak to him in private about his first day.

"Oh god, I'm fired aren't I? Is it because I dropped that tray of food earlier? I swear, I'm so sorry and I-"

"Jason! You're not fired." Michael smiled slightly, seeing Jason do that cute little relieved sigh, "I was actually going to congratulate on what a great job you did today. Lots of customers complimented your food, and I think you're one of the fastest working chefs I've ever seen. Besides myself, of course." Michael winked at Jason and saw the younger man's eyes widen in disbelief.

"I, I'm not fired? I did a good job?" Jason looked startled, his eyes were darting around nervously, and he was blushing furiously at the compliments from Michael.

"You did a fantastic job. You've certainly impressed me, Jason." Michael patted Jason soothingly on the arm, and felt butterflies in his stomach at the skin-on-skin contact between them.

Jason blinked a little at the contact too, looking down at his arm when Michael had removed his hand. When he looked back up to Michael, their eyes met and both of them stood there for a few seconds, lost for words. When it got awkward, Michael just let out a small laugh and turned to walk away.

"Michael!" Jason called back, but when Michael turned around and met his gaze, realised that he didn't have a clue what he was going to say. "I, uh… Thanks."

"Any time," smiled Michael, "don't forget to lock up." Then he turned on his heel and left the restaurant.

Michael took a few deep breaths when he got out into the crisp city air. _Focus Michael. Think of your business. Think of Kurt. _He flagged down a cab and when he got in, his phone started to ring in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw from the caller ID that it was Kurt himself calling. Michael answered the phone and put it up to his ear. "Heeeello beautiful." He smiled as Kurt laughed at his response.

"Hey honey, I was just wondering when you were getting home? I'm lonely…" Michael could practically hear the pout on his boyfriend's face. It was so sweet that Kurt felt lonely when he wasn't there!

"I've just got in the cab; I'll be home in ten minutes. Why, did you have something in mind?"

"Not really, I've just had a long day and I miss you."

"Aw, rehearsals not go well?"

"The rehearsing was fine; it was more the Blaine issue that put a damper on my day."

"Issue? He's not giving you grief about your million-years-ago break up, is he? I swear he needs to get over himself…" Michael practically spat these words down the phone. He had seen a change in Kurt since he started rehearsing with that guy again, and he really didn't trust him at all. Kurt had said that Blaine had practically been cheating on him when they broke up, so what was this guy's problem?

"Michael, don't be like that… Blaine's a good guy really. It's just really difficult, you know? He brings back a load of memories I guess…"

"Bad ones?"

"Not necessarily bad… Just memories."

"Well if he keeps making you so depressed like this, I might have to go and have a word with him. What'd he do today?" Michael sighed, he was sick of hearing everything that Blaine had been doing to make Kurt feel uncomfortable or making him remember things that seemed to get him down.

"Michael, please be nice. It's really not that bad, he just sang this song about me…"

"He _what? _He serenaded you?"

"Not serenaded, I wasn't even supposed to be listening-"

"Oh so now you're chasing him around too? Are you sure that _you're _over _him?_" Michael knew he was being cruel, but he was really getting tired of this whole thing.

"Michael!" Kurt sounded hurt and angry, and Michael immediately felt bad. "How could you even say that?"

"Look, I'm sorry…"

"You know what? It doesn't even matter. I thought that I was calling you to tell you a nice thing, about how much I was missing my lovely boyfriend, but it turns out that I accidentally dialled the wrong number and called my bastard boyfriend."

Kurt cut Michael off, who dropped his phone into his lap and slumped back in his seat, groaning and rubbing his face.

"Girlfriend troubles?" asked the cab driver, looking sympathetic.

"Boyfriend troubles, actually. But yeah, I guess that conversation could have gone better…" Michael looked into the rear view mirror from his back seat, and saw the driver looking rather uncomfortable. "What's wrong, got a problem with that?"

"No, no of course not…" But the driver didn't speak again for the entire trip. Michael decided not to tip him, and when he got back to his apartment, he looked around for Kurt but couldn't find him anywhere. He took out his mobile and dialled Kurt's number, only to find Kurt's abandoned phone ringing from the bedroom. _Great, _thought Michael, _just great. _

* * *

Kurt wandered down the street, hugging his scarf closer around his neck against the cool chill. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew that he wanted to put off seeing Michael for a little while. How could he have said that? He knew that Kurt was going through a lot lately with the intense rehearsals and Blaine drama on top of that, and he accused Kurt of still being in love with Blaine? _We broke up five years ago; I think I'm over him… _

But that was the problem. Kurt _had _thought he was over him, but everyday when he saw Blaine he found that harder and harder to believe. He felt awful about it, guilty even. He loved Michael and didn't want to hurt his feelings. But, then again, Michael obviously had no regard for Kurt's feelings or he wouldn't have said that to him about Blaine. Michael had said he understood why Blaine was still important to Kurt, understood that he had been Kurt's first and only other boyfriend besides Michael. But he couldn't have meant it, or he wouldn't have said what he did to Kurt.

He sighed, deciding to just let it go from his mind for a bit. He really couldn't be bothered to think about that now, he wanted to just relax and have a bit of fun for one night, was that too much to ask? Kurt made a pact with himself to not think of Michael or Blaine for the rest of the evening, and instead gave Rachel Berry a call. Rachel lived not far away from where Kurt currently was, he could walk it in ten minutes then have a nice girly evening for the first time in ages.

"Kurt! Honey I have missed you so much…" Rachel slurred the words out and Kurt could hear music and other people talking loudly in the background. "How come you don't visit anymore, Kurt? You smell nice…"

Okay, Berry was definitely drunk. Rachel was a LOT of fun when drunk, so Kurt just had to ask, "Hey Rachel, where are you? You sound like you're having fun, mind if I join?"

"Course not, Kurtsie wurtsie… I'm at my house silly! Where else could I be?"

"Well, you- ugh, never mind," Kurt knew that trying to talk sense into a drunk Rachel was like trying to get blood out of a stone. "Why are you having a party?"

"Finn organi*hiccup*, organis*hiccup*, orga*hiccup*, he arranged it because we haven't had anyone over in ages… You should come, Kurtsie! I like you a lot!"

"Gee, thanks Rach. I'll be there in 10."

"Bring Mikey, he's nice too."

"Uh…" Kurt was most definitely NOT bringing Michael, and _damn _now he'd broken his pact. Stupid Rachel. "He can't come, he's busy." Kurt lied, then said goodbye against Rachel's pleads and protests and continued walking along the quiet streets towards Rachel and Finn's house.

When he arrived, he could hear music pumping out loudly before the door was even open. The lights weren't on, but from the dots of coloured lights seen in the windows, he guessed that Rachel had brought out her vast lamp collection and scattered them around the house. He let himself in with his spare key, and was a little surprised at the amount of people that had squeezed into Rachel and Finn's tiny home. Kurt was sure they didn't know all of these people, about 99% of whom were already drunk out of their minds and dancing madly to the ear-splitting music. _Perfect _thought Kurt, he really wanted to get drunk and party tonight, to take his mind off of all the crazy in his life at the moment.

He edged around the drunken dancers, who were all grinding up against each other and him as he weaved his way towards the kitchen. In there he found Rachel, giving a very happy Finn a lap dance. She rubbed herself all over him to the catcalls and cheers of the other people in the room, and Kurt found himself laughing and blushing a little. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and sipped it whilst waiting for her to finish. The dance ended with a very dirty looking make out session with Finn, and when they were finally done, Kurt approached.

"Well well well, Miss Berry I did not know you were such a little minx at heart. Great lap dance by the way." He winked and grinned at her, and she laughed a little too loudly for her to be anywhere near sober.

"Oh Kurtsie, are you jealous?" She giggled and hiccupped as Kurt raised his eyebrows and shook his head.

"No, I'd rather have one from Finn!" Finn looked a little bewildered and shocked, but Kurt eased him, "Just kidding, Finn. Don't worry!"

"So you decided to join the party," Rachel stated, picking up a glass of wine from the counter, "I'm ever so glad, Mr Hummel. Would you care to join me in a dance?" She asked in a fake British accent, and Kurt accepted and led her through to the living room just as the song changed to a particularly loud and strong-rhythmed tune. They danced madly, head banging and playing air guitar, and with every sip of his beer Kurt felt the weights of his stresses slowly lifting from his shoulders. They drank and danced and drank some more for the next couple of songs, Kurt mysteriously getting through almost three beers, when the doorbell buzzed loudly. "I'll get it!" called Rachel, and she danced across the room and over to the door. Kurt followed her, and when she pulled the door open around ten or twelve people were standing on the doorstep with crates of beer and bottles of vodka. She cheered and invited them in, and Kurt felt a slap in the face when he saw one of the last people to come through the door.

"Blaine?" Kurt called, noticing the short, curly haired man stepping into the chaos that was Rachel's house. Blaine looked up and Kurt noticed a fleeting look of panic cross his face, which then disappeared when a young girl snaked her arm around his waist and pulled him towards the living room. Blaine gestured for her to go ahead, and she gave him a quick kiss on the lips before heading to the living room alone. Blaine walked over to Kurt sheepishly, and mumbled a quiet hello. "I thought you said Millie was on holiday?" Kurt raised a delicate eyebrow and saw Blaine blush.

"Well… She is. That's uh, that's Abby."

"Abby? Blaine, are you cheating on Millie?"

"What, no! Millie uh, she dumped me. Earlier today. She called and said that she'd been thinking about it and she didn't want to be with me anymore. So I went out with the guys to try and forget about it, and I met Abby." He bit his lip and looked up at Kurt. "Are you angry?"

"What? Why would I be angry? I'm glad you're not cheating on anyone. You know what that can do to a relationship…" Kurt folded his arms and looked pointedly at Blaine, who rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Yeah. Yeah I do, but I never cheated on you Kurt."

"You thought about it."

"I did not! I didn't think for one minute of cheating on you, I've told you this a million times, Kurt. I simply thought Jason was a really nice guy, and you took it the wrong way."

"Oh, don't try and make this my fault, Blaine. You know what you did was wrong, and I had every right to break up with you then!"

Blaine was about to retaliate, but Abby came up from behind and pulled on his elbow. "Blaine, come dance with me!" She began pulling him in the direction of the living-room-turned-dance-floor, and he gave a long look at Kurt then followed her. Kurt sighed, downed the rest of his beer, and decided to tell Rachel he was leaving. He did NOT want to be in the same party as Blaine for the rest of the night; the whole aim of going to the party had been to take his mind _off _of Blaine. When he got into the living room however, he couldn't seem to move his legs any further.

Blaine and Abby were dancing in the middle of the room, with everyone around them watching and cheering them. The song playing at the moment had particularly dirty lyrics, and Blaine was grinding with Abby, both of them looking as though they were loving every second of it. It looked like a scene from dirty dancing, with their bodies pressed close, Abby's head thrown back and Blaine nuzzling her neck, and their hips gyrating together. Kurt couldn't tear his eyes away from Blaine, and felt his pants get just a little tighter as he watched the dancing. Somehow, even though Blaine was dancing dirty, _and with a girl_, he still managed to keep that dapper charm that he possessed while dancing. That charm was one of the many things that Kurt had fallen in love with in High School, and it was positively _fascinating _for Kurt watching it now.

Kurt heard a giggle from behind him, and managed to finally pull his eyes away from the dancing couple to see Rachel leaning in the doorway laughing at Kurt.

"Turned on, Kurtsie? You look like you've just seen Taylor Lautner naked." Rachel grinned and came over to Kurt, who snapped out of his trance and clamped his open mouth shut with a snap. He hadn't even realised that his mouth had fallen open, and he could feel now that he was virtually drooling.

_Get a hold of yourself, _thought Kurt, but to Rachel he just smiled and said "Ha, you wish Rach. If I had seen Taylor Lautner naked, I would be on the floor, passed out from sheer excitement." He smiled at her, and then suddenly remembered why he had wanted to talk to her. "Hey, I think I'm gonna take off now."

Her face fell, and she grabbed onto his arm as if that would stop him leaving. "No! Kurtsie you can't leave, you only just got here! Pleeeeeeaassee!" She pouted and did her best puppy dog eyes at Kurt, who usually would have resisted, but after getting a few drinks in him he wasn't quite as good at it as he would have liked.

"Ugh… _Fine_, I'll stay just a little while longer…" Rachel grinned, "But only because you said please."

"Yay! Come on Kurt, grab another drink and I'll show you what Finn got me for my birthday!"

Kurt, after getting a fourth beer from one of the crates that Blaine and his friends had brought, found himself getting dragged up the stairs towards Rachel and Finn's bedroom. They had to climb over several couples making out or passed out on the stairs, but they finally got to the top and opened the door to Rachel's room. Luckily, no-one had yet ventured in there so everything was as normal. Kurt suddenly realised that Finn's gift to Rachel was in their _bedroom _and Rachel was currently extremely drunk, and he got a little worried. "Uh, Rachel, this isn't what I think it's going to be, is it? Because I would really rather not see…" Kurt blinked away the disturbing mental images of bizarre sex toys, and sighed in relief when Rachel shook her head.

"No, silly! It's much better." She walked over to the other end of the room, and opened a door that Kurt was sure he had never seen before. The door revealed a small room, absolutely stuffed with more clothes than Kurt had ever seen in one person's wardrobe. "A walk-in wardrobe!" Rachel squealed, jumping up and down on the spot, "And he even took me shopping for clothes to fill it with!"

Kurt grinned at Rachel's excitement and walked over to inspect her new outfits. "Wow," Kurt raised his eyebrows in shock, "I never knew you had such a good fashion sense, Rachel. It's nothing on mine, of course, but it has definitely improved since High School!" He looked around and found that he actually wasn't disgusted by any of the clothes that she now owned. He gave her an impressed nod and clapped his hands comically, "Bravo, Rachel. No, Brava!" She laughed at him, and then they both made their way back downstairs.

Kurt danced with Rachel and then some other people he didn't really know but was too drunk to care, and when midnight rolled around he was officially drunk out of his mind and had lost count of the number of beers he had had. Apparently, Blaine was also quite drunk, and a drunken Blaine is not always the best company to keep. However, drunken Kurt didn't remember this, and so decided to ask Blaine for a dance. Blaine's eyes widened a little when Kurt asked him, but he grinned and gave a cocky wink before joining Kurt in a drunken jump around to Kesha's latest hit, Blow. They danced happily together, Abby currently sleeping in the armchair. But, about halfway through the song, Blaine did something unexpected.

He grinded against Kurt.

Yes, _grinded. _

Kurt looked at Blaine, startled, and stopped dancing. Blaine, however, moved forwards as if to do it again, but Kurt pushed him back. "Blaine! Did you just _grind _me?"

"Maaaybe…" Blaine said cheekily, and once more tried to dance close with Kurt.

"Blaine! Stop it!"

"Come on, Kurt, just a little fun! What are you so afraid of?"

"Uh, the fact that I have a boyfriend, and _you're supposed to be straight!" _Kurt couldn't believe Blaine, what the hell was he doing?

"Ah Kurt, that doesn't matter! I'm only having a laugh…"

"Yeah well, I don't think it's funny." Kurt spun on his heel and marched out of the room and towards the front door. He was just about to open it and leave, when Blaine grabbed his arm and pulled him around to face him.

"Look, Kurt, I'm sorry. I really was just trying to have a little fun."

"Well I was having fun too, until you decided to grind me! What the hell was that about?"

"What? Isn't a guy allowed to grind with anyone any more?" Blaine looked genuinely shocked at the idea that Kurt didn't think it was funny.

"Yes you are, but not with another guy when you're supposed to be straight, and not when you're already here with a girl, and not when the guy you're grinding with has a boyfriend!" Kurt was really angry now; didn't Blaine understand how confused Kurt was?

"Kurt, I'm sorry, really, but I didn't think it was a problem! It's not like I'm actually dating Abby. And even if I was she wouldn't matter as much as you!" Blaine's eyes widened and he slapped his hand over his mouth after saying this, turning away from Kurt and running the other hand through his hair.

"What? Wouldn't matter as much as me? What the hell Blaine?"

But Blaine wouldn't say anything; he just gave Kurt another long look, waved goodbye and ran back into the living room. Kurt was thoroughly confused and annoyed and shocked, and the music was pounding in his ears and there were too many people around… A wave of nausea crashed over him and he opened the door, rushing behind a bush just in time to empty his stomach without making too much of a mess. He wiped his mouth and looked down in disgust at what he had done in Rachel's garden. "Okay, I really need to watch how much I drink…" He said to himself, and then walked down the path and onto the street. He started walking home and attempted to clear his head by taking deep, refreshing breaths of the cool night air.

_What the hell just happened at that party? _Kurt thought, absolutely bewildered by the night's events.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, please take a minute to press that review button and let me know what you thought! **


	4. Intriguing

**Thanks again to everyone reading this fic, it means the world to me, and especially Rene95 – You're my favourite! 3**

**DRAMA ENSUES in this chapter, and it has been painful for me to write but this had to happen at some point… Please don't hate me.**

**A/N – I realised that for some reason in chapter 2 I changed the name of Blaine's girlfriend from Leanne to Millie? I have no idea why and I'm sorry if it confused you… I'll change it ASAP.**

_What the hell just happened at that party? _Kurt thought, absolutely bewildered by the night's events.

He went to take out his phone and dial Michael's number, but groaned realising he had left his phone at home. He was pretty impressed with himself; he wasn't acting too crazily despite having drunk four beers already, and was able to think clearly enough to think of a solution to this problem. Blaine's actions had probably startled him enough to knock away all drunken thoughts and slam him back into reality. Blaine had tried to dance VERY close to him, and then told him that nobody mattered as much as Kurt did? Was Blaine still… Did he love…

Kurt didn't even want to think about it. It was too shocking, and terrifying, and he felt wrong even simply letting his mind stray to that region of thought – he did after all have a boyfriend. Kurt shook himself mentally to get his thoughts back on track, then walked up the garden path towards Rachel and Finn's next door neighbor's house. Kurt knew the owners of the house very well, Mr and Mrs Baker had lived there since Rachel and Finn had moved in and had always been very hospitable.

"Hello, Kurt honey! Are you okay, it's very late..." Mrs Baker smiled encouragingly, the skin around her eyes wrinkling slightly as she did so.

"I know, I'm awfully sorry, but I can't go back into Rachel's with that party in there, and left my phone at home but need to call my boyfriend... Do you think I could possibly borrow your phone?" He gave her a hopeful and apologetic look, and she smiled widely in response.

"Of course dear, just step inside and I'll go grab it for you."

"Thankyou very much, Mrs Baker."

"I've told you before, Kurt, call me Cathy!"

"I'm sorry, Thankyou very much Cathy." Kurt emphasized the last word, and with a small chuckle Mrs Baker (Kurt would always call her that anyway) walked off into the house to retrieve a phone for Kurt. As he waited, Kurt's thoughts drifted to Michael and what he was going to say to him.

Michael had known; he had seen all along that Blaine would still be in love with Kurt, and that was why he had questioned Kurt… Kurt felt awful about what he had said to Michael, he knew that Michael had only been trying to help. He was always so kind and caring and compassionate, he put up with all Kurt's drama and was supportive, he congratulated him on all his work, and he himself worked so hard down at the restaurant so that he could continue to support himself and Kurt when Kurt was out of a job temporarily.

Mrs Baker returned and handed Kurt the phone, then left again to give him some privacy. Kurt managed to dial Michael's number correctly after about fou attempts; his tipsy state left him with very poor hand-eye coordination.

"Kurt?" Michael's voice sounded concerned and relieved at the same time when he picked up on the third ring. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Michael, just a little flustered I guess. Can you pick me up?"

"Of course honey. Where are you?"

"I'm at Rachel's next door neighbor's house, just borrowing her phone."

"I'll be there in five minutes. And Kurt?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

Kurt felt his breath hitch when he heard the pain and regret in Michael's voice, and he only felt even worse about reacting so badly to their earlier conversation. He really didn't deserve Michael. "No, I'm sorry. But, please can we talk about this when we're home? It's kind of late and I've disturbed Mrs Baker enough tonight I think."

"Sorry, I'm getting in the car now." Michael hung up, and Kurt returned the phone to Mrs Baker.

"Thanks again, Mrs- I mean Cathy." Kurt smiled and left the kind middle-aged woman's house, stepping out onto the chilly street. Small shivers ran through his body as the coll night air whipped around him, and he groaned realising he had left his scarf and jacket in Rachel's house. Well, they would have to stay there; he couldn't face Blaine again tonight.

Around four minutes later he turned the corner onto Rachel's street and Kurt ran over, clambering inside to the warmth of Michael's car and slamming the door tightly behind him.

"Gosh, it's freezing out there!"

"Kurt," Michael was looking at Kurt with the most heart-breakingly apologetic look on his face. He grasped Kurt's hand and took a deep breath, "I-"

He was cut off when Kurt leaned over and crushed their lips together. Michael was stiff at first, but relaxed into Kurt's touch when he realised that this was Kurt's way of saying 'I forgive you, I'm sorry, and I don't want to think about this anymore'. He wrapped his arms around Kurt's body, trying to hug warmth back into him, and the two stayed like that for a little while, wrapped up entirely in their love and regret for each other. Kurt cupped Michael's face when they pulled away. "I love you, Michael. I feel awful for everything I've done, I have been completely unthoughtful and a terrible boyfriend, but I'm just so confused at the moment and scared, and I guess I just needed to tell someone all about it. I am so, so sorry that it hurt your feelings, but my feelings are a mess at the moment too. I don't know what's going on with Blaine, he's acting really weirdly. But that is his problem, not mine, not yours, not ours. And I promise I won't let it come between us again."

Michael sighed and smiled, resting his forehead against Kurt's and holding them ever closer between the two front seats. "I love you too, Kurt, and I'm sorry that I would even accuse you of not being over him. I should have more faith in you, and I'm so sorry. I know that you no longer have feelings for him." Kurt's heart panged when Michael said these words. He felt like he was lying, even though he had told what he thought was the truth. Did he have feelings for Blaine? He honestly didn't know, but he wasn't going to tell Michael this, not yet. It would only break his heart and complicate things even more, and what if it turned out that Kurt didn't really have feelings for Blaine? He couldn't risk it, and although he felt like he owed Michael the truth, he wasn't going to spoil this moment of love by bringing Blaine into it again.

Instead, he just closed the distance between their lips once more, letting his mind focus on one thing; being close to Michael.

Blaine stumbled out of Rachel's house a few minutes after he saw Kurt leave. He had to explain to him what was going on, and why he was acting so strangely, and even if it killed him to do it he was going to tell the truth.

When he got onto the street, he looked to his right and saw Kurt climbing into a car that had just pulled up. He went to follow him, but then saw that there was a man sitting in the drivers' side, looking at Kurt in a way that broke Blaine's heart.

But what broke his heart more was the fact that Kurt's face held the same expression. He saw the driver grasp Kurt's hand and he saw his mouth moving desperately, but Kurt didn't seem to be responding. He took a few steps closer, and then stopped, feet rooted to the path, when he saw Kurt lean forwards and kiss the other man.

Blaine felt like he was standing in a snow globe, and somebody had just shaken it up and made his entire world come crashing down around him. He watched as the two men kissed passionately in the car, but the kiss was in no way dirty or lustful. It was filled simply with love. Blaine thought about how he and Kurt used to kiss like that, they used to hold hands and tell the other how much they loved them. _They _used to be in love together, but now it was only Blaine – Kurt didn't love him back. He probably hated him. He had ruined it when they had been together, and now he was making things worse by involving himself again. And at the party when he grinded against Kurt… Frickin' grinded him. _What the hell was I thinking? _He had probably just pushed Kurt even further away.

And all the crap he had built up around him over the years about his sexuality… That was the reason why he hadn't got over Kurt after all this time – he hadn't made room in his heart to allow himself to love anybody else. He had pushed true feelings aside, and decided to settle in a false sense of security, living behind a lie. He had lied to himself, to his friends and family, to the girls he had dated, and now to Kurt.

And it was killing him.

He wanted to look away, to leave and give the couple some privacy, but his body didn't seem to work anymore. He couldn't believe that he had thought that he and Kurt still had a chance, that if he told Kurt the truth then he would come running back to him without a second thought. Blaine hadn't even considered Kurt's boyfriend, even though Kurt had made his feelings about Michael very clear. Kurt was obviously deeply in love with Michael, and this was confirmed when Blaine watched Kurt's beautiful, flawless lips, move to unmistakeably form the words 'I love you', and direct them not to Blaine, but to Michael. The more attractive, more confident, and obviously more loving man, whom Kurt had obviously chosen over the weak, insecure, and plain stupid Blaine.

When the couple in the car kissed again, Blaine finally managed to drag his eyes away and looked instead at the pavement. He had to walk home, and the only way to get there was to walk right past the car which held the love of his life and the man who had taken Blaine's place in Kurt's heart. He scurried past; eyes fixated on his shoes, but as he got up close and could see the pair in there so clearly, both lost in a bubble of love, Blaine couldn't help but let a sob escape his lips and a tear fall down his cheek. _It's over, _Blaine thought miserably, _I've lost him for good._

Michael and Kurt finally pulled away from each other, and Michael switched the engine back on and began the drive home. Kurt was too busy watching his beautiful boyfriend too notice when they drove past a crying curly-haired man, who looked up at the car as it passed and felt his heart break just a little more. Kurt was so happy that he and Michael had made up, he hated arguing with him, and it wasn't exactly helping in the whole Blaine situation. At least when he knew that Michael still definitely loved him, he could make a better decision about what to do about Blaine. He needed to confront him, to get him to explain exactly what was going on, because he couldn't cope with all the tension between them any more. Rehearsals had been going on for little over a week, Kurt realised, but Blaine had still managed to make so much change in such a small space of time.

"Michael? Could you… possibly help me with something?" Kurt looked into his hands as he said this, nerves making his voice shake.

"Sure Kurt, what's wrong?"

"Well… I need to tell you something about Blaine, and you have to promise me that you won't freak out." Michael stiffened at the mention of Blaine, but nodded and listened while Kurt explained, "Blaine and I had coffee in a break during rehearsals, and he seemed really nervous and awkward… and it confused me a little. I didn't know why he was acting that way, I was completely comfortable around him because I knew we were long over and so there was nothing really to worry about. The problem is, I don't think he knows it. You know how I said Blaine sang a song? Well it was about me, about how… how he felt around me and how I apparently didn't notice it. I wasn't supposed to hear it, it sounded really private but I was… I was just curious I guess. It sounded quite a lot like he wasn't completely over me, and it scared me. Then, at that party at Rachel's… Well Blaine arrived about an hour after I did, and he was with a girl, but then he… I was dancing with him and he… Well he tried to dance close with me but I pushed him away and then he turned all weird again and he basically said that… Well, he said that no-one mattered to him as much as I did."

Kurt looked up at Michael and searched his face at this point, examining his reaction closely. They had pulled onto the driveway outside their apartment block, and Michael was staring straight ahead, hands gripping the wheel with white knuckles. His expression was stony, but when he noticed Kurt looking at him, he smiled faintly and tried to look like this wasn't bothering him at all. "What do you need my help with, Kurt?"

"Well… I want to confront him. Ask him what's going on, and what his feelings are. I need you to come with me though, to help me get it all straightened out, and explain that he and I are over, and that I love you, not him." Kurt didn't look into Michael's eyes as he said this, because he still wasn't quite positive that what he was saying was totally true. He wasn't sure about how he felt about Blaine, but he was too scared to admit it to himself. He wanted to hear what Blaine had to say, but he wanted Michael to be there so that he didn't get too carried away. Michael would be his rock, to keep his feet firmly on the ground, to stop Blaine carrying him up into the clouds like he had in High School.

"I… Of course, Kurt. Of course I'll come." Michael took Kurt's hand and squeezed it gently, to which Kurt breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Thank you Michael. I know this will be hard for you, heck, it's going to be hard for me, and I can't imagine what it will be like for you. But, I want you to promise me that you'll listen to what he has to say. He is going through a hard time, because he's so confused… I just don't want him to hurt more than he already does. Not because of me. Not again." Kurt was staring intently at his hands now, chewing his lip, as a single tear rolled down his cheek. He brushed it away before Michael could see, and taking a deep breath got out of the car. Michael followed him, but they didn't speak again that night, both afraid of saying something they regretted, or making the tension in the apartment even stronger.

Kurt was a little worried, he didn't know if he'd just upset Michael for the second time that day by asking him to help him with Blaine. Or maybe it was just the way he'd asked, had he said too much? They had made up in the car, but it had only lasted the drive home, and Kurt had already screwed things up again. He and Michael never used to be like this; they hardly ever argued, and when they did it was always over petty things and they'd forgive each other instantly. They had never had a big argument, and Kurt did not want to be the cause of their first.

Michael however, was concerned for other reasons. He felt like he was growing apart from Kurt, and he didn't know why. In the past week, two new people had entered their lives, thus disrupting the monotony and comfort that had kept Michael and Kurt so happy. Blaine was seemingly making Kurt question his feelings for Michael, and after the day's events with Jason… Michael was shocked at how he had reacted to Jason. It was like he had turned a light on inside Michael's head, a light that he had never realised was there. The addition of these two people into Michael and Kurt's relationship had made them realise that although they thought they were perfectly happy together, they didn't know what they were missing. Their relationship lacked excitement and romance; they were more like an old married couple. Michael knew that he and Kurt had been together for a long time, but if a single day with somebody like Jason had made him question their relationship this much, surely it was a sign? A sign that maybe, just maybe, he and Kurt were never really meant to be?

Both men went to sleep that night thinking about the other, both seriously considering what the relationship meant to them, and how it compared to other people in their lives.

The next morning was Sunday, and both Michael and Kurt had the day off. They decided to take this opportunity to speak to Blaine, and try to settle things once and for all. Kurt needed to know where he stood, so that he could really make a decision about Michael. Michael had seemed a little off too, and Kurt was beginning to think that Michael had something else on his mind, so he decided to ask him over breakfast.

"Mikey, are you okay?"

"Hm?"

"You just… seem really distracted by something. Or, someone?" Kurt cocked his head at Michael, who was beginning to blush. Why was he blushing?

"Oh… I don't know what you're talking about…" But Michael turned away from Kurt to hide the fact that his face was turning a bright shade of scarlet. How did Kurt know him so well?

Kurt was not going to let this one slide. "Michael, tell me. Look, we're going through a bit of drama lately, and we need to be perfectly honest with each other. I've been honest about Blaine," _well, as honest as I can be… _"And now I want you to be honest with me."

"If you really want to know, Kurt, I'm worried about us." Michael turned and folded his arms, taking a surprisingly aggressive tone with Kurt. "I can feel us growing apart every day, I think it's been inevitably for a while but we've only started realising it since Blaine and Jason came into our lives." Michael held his breath waiting for Kurt to respond to this little addition to the pot of drama.

Kurt was puzzled, who was Jason? Could it be…? No. It couldn't be the same Jason. Could it? "Who's Jason?"

"He's the new chef at the restaurant. He only started yesterday but… I'm going to try to be honest with you, Kurt, but I can't even be honest with myself because I have no idea how I feel. He's just… He's… Intriguing," a small smile played around Michael's lips and Kurt felt his heart plummet to the ground. "I'm confused, and I really love you Kurt, so I'm more than willing to completely ignore Jason. But I need to know that you'll completely ignore Blaine too, because I know that you feel the same way about him that I think I'm starting to about Jason." He took a deep breath after this, and watched Kurt's reaction closely.

Kurt didn't know what to think, so he said the first thing that came into his head. "Is this Jason British?"

Michael looked a little bit shocked, but replied, "…Yes… How did you know that?"

Kurt closed his eyes and held his breath for a moment, before letting it out and saying "I can't believe this. He's the same Jason. I'm sure of it. He has to be."

"The same Jason? What? I," then Michael's eyes suddenly widened, "_oh_. THAT Jason… Kurt, you can't know that, I'm sure there are tonnes of British Jasons!"

"He's blonde. Clumsy. His parents live in England and his mom talks for hours and hours. He has a dog called Misty who he misses like hell but he had to leave her in England because she doesn't like flying." Kurt looked up at Michael, and saw his expression change from denial to embarrassed. "I knew it. That bastard's back to screw my life up once again."

"Kurt, don't be like that. Poor guy barely even knows you!"

"Michael, he took Blaine away from me then left him on his ass. I don't know what you're feelings are at the moment but don't let him do the same to you." Kurt took a deep breath, and continued, "I think we should take a break Michael. Get our heads cleared, and rethink what it is we really want. I don't want to hurt you, but I think I know what you mean when you say that we're growing apart."

Michael looked a little upset, but he didn't protest. "Do you still want me to come with you to talk to Blaine?"

Kurt thought for a moment, but then he realised that if he and Michael were on a break, he should probably go alone. He shook his head sadly, then got up and left the apartment. Once outside, he lent against the wall for a moment, letting what had just happened really sink in… He and Michael were taking a break. Michael had met Jason, and the same thing that had torn Kurt and Blaine apart five years ago was happening again.

But most of all, Blaine was back, and Kurt was beginning to remember why he had once loved him so much.

Blaine had spent the night tossing and turning. He had dreamt of Kurt all night long, only sometimes it had felt more like a nightmare than a dream. He could just hear Kurt's voice in his head, telling him that he was disappointed. Asking '_What the hell, Blaine?_' Blaine had really screwed things up, when all he had wanted to do was make friends with Kurt. He had hoped that the two would at least become better friends, if he couldn't have him back as a boyfriend. But after the party, and Kurt having a boyfriend… Blaine was seriously considering dropping out of the show and getting the hell out of Kurt's life. They were only a week into rehearsals after all; there was still plenty of time for a replacement to take over. Then Blaine wouldn't have to hurt Kurt any more.

As he sat on the couch, flicking through TV channels mindlessly and sipping his orange juice, Blaine still couldn't get Kurt out of his head. He settled for some dreary and predictable programme, and leaned back on the couch. That's when he heard the knock at his door, and the quiet voice asking "…Blaine?"

_Kurt. _Blaine jumped up off the sofa, almost spilling his juice, but he put it down on the coffee table and ran over to the door of his tiny apartment. He took a deep breath before unlocking the door and opening it slowly. He found Kurt standing outside the door, looking tired and upset and generally worn out, and Blaine had to resist the temptation to pull the taller man into a comforting hug right there on the threshold. "Kurt, what are you doing here? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just… That's a lie. I'm not fine. Can I come in? I really need to speak with you…" Kurt closed his eyes sadly, but Blaine took his hand and pulled him over to the sofa. He shut the door and turned off the TV, before taking a seat at the opposite end of the couch to Kurt.

"Look, Kurt, if this is about the party I am so _so _sorry. You know what I'm like drunk, I just get carried away and I swear that I-"

"Blaine, don't worry, it's not about the party. Well, it is partly, but mainly it's just about you in general. And me. Us."

"Us?" Blaine raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips, what us?

"Yes Blaine. Us. We broke up five years ago, but I get the feeling that you're not… quite over me yet. And the thing is, these past few days, I've been thinking that maybe I'm not over you either."

Blaine's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat. Or two. Or three. _Breathe… _He told himself, and managed to mumble out a quiet "Wow… okay." He rubbed the back of his neck and chewed his lip nervously; waiting to see what else Kurt would say.

"So first you tell me that you're straight, and in love with Millie. Then I hear you singing a song about me in your dressing room," Blaine's head snapped up from where it had drifted to his hands, _he heard that! _"And then we were at the party, and you came with a girl but ended up grinding with me and telling me that nobody mattered to you as much as I did? I'm really confused Blaine, and I don't know how to feel or what to think at all. Michael and I are taking a break, and Jason's back and Michael likes him, and now I think I like you again…" A tear fell down Kurt's cheek and he dropped his face into his hands. Blaine immediately moved to comfort him, wrapping his arms around Kurt and pulling him into his chest. Kurt sat there, sobbing, while Blaine rocked slowly back and forth and whispered comforting things to him. It felt almost like old times, except now both of them had many more stresses and weights on their shoulders.

When Kurt finally stopped crying, he sat up but Blaine kept an arm around his shoulders. He said softly, "When you say Jason's back… Do you mean _the _Jason? From England?"

Kurt nodded his head silently, and Blaine let out a long breath. _Damn Jason, _he thought, _screwing things up for Kurt again. _"He just got hired at Michael's restaurant," Kurt explained, "Michael said he was 'intriguing'." Kurt looked down at his hands, and then continued shakily, "The worst part is that I didn't even feel that badly about it. I should have been angry and upset and hurt that my boyfriend was feeling that way about somebody else, but all I could think about was…" he swallowed, "Was you."

"Me?" Blaine was shaking his head, letting it all sink in. It was all too much. He thought Kurt hated him, now Kurt suddenly likedhim again, and was 'taking a break' with Michael? The same Michael who he had looked so incredibly in love with just last night?

"You, Blaine. But I didn't come over here to tell you all this, I came over here so that you could explain to me exactly what is going on with you, so that I can finally know where I stand with you and Michael, and make a decision about what I want, and need. Please Blaine, _what is going on?" _

Blaine took a deep breath. _He wants to know the truth… _He thought, and after looking at Kurt's distraught face, he made his decision. "I'm going to tell you the entire truth, Kurt, right from the start."

**Slightly shorter chapter will follow, with a kind of flashback to Blaine's POV throughout the last 5 years. Please review! **


	5. The Truth Is Out

**I really appreciate every single one of you who has had any involvement at all in this story, particularly reviewers – you truly warm my heart whenever I get an email with 'Story Review' as the subject. **

**This chapter was really difficult to write, and I've had parts of it written for ages. I've changed and added to and taken from this short chapter so much over the past couple of days, but I'm finally happy with the result and I hope you all are too! **

**I'll say again as I do in every chapter, your reviews help me so much with choosing how to write each part of this story, and so I'd much appreciate it if you could take a few minutes at the end of reading to tell me what you think and give me any suggestions about what you want to happen next.**

**Thanks, enjoy chapter 5, I hope you don't mind that it's quite short but chapter 6 will be up soon too!**

* * *

Blaine took a deep breath. _He wants to know the truth… _He thought, and after looking at Kurt's distraught face, he made his decision. "I'm going to tell you the entire truth, Kurt, right from the start.

* * *

In the next few weeks after Kurt had broken up with Blaine, Blaine tried to act as though nothing had happened. He didn't try to forget Kurt, there were too many beautiful memories, but he did try to move on. He was desperate to make himself understand that Kurt didn't love him anymore, tried to convince himself that nothing could be done.

Sometimes you have to try not to care, no matter how much you do. Because, sometimes, you mean nothing to someone who means everything to you.

He became quiet and reserved, and barely talked to anybody if he could avoid it. He could not bring himself to even look at Jason anymore, so their friendship died as quickly as it had grown. The one thing he remained involved with fully was Glee club, because it was the place where he could best find a release from all the pain and heartache he felt, and put all those emotions into his music. He even started writing some original songs, but he could never finish any of them, because they were all about Kurt and he never felt satisfied by what the songs became. Just like he was not satisfied by what his and Kurt's relationship had become. There was no relationship any more; Kurt had completely cut Blaine out of his life. Blaine had tried on numerous occasions to contact Kurt, with emails, texts, phone calls, and Facebook messages, but Kurt was completely ignoring him. The worst part was that Blaine knew Kurt had every right to do this; everything was Blaine's fault. He had ruined everything, being lazy and inconsiderate and a general ass to Kurt. It's sad how someone can go from being the reason you wake up smiling, to the reason you cry yourself to sleep.

People began to worry about him by the time three months had passed and he was still mourning the loss of contact with Kurt. Tina had sat him down to talk, but Blaine couldn't bring himself to talk about how he was feeling. "I just… It _hurts_." He had told her, as tears filled his eyes and memories of Kurt filled his mind. Tina decided to let Blaine deal with it in his own time, and be as supportive as possible throughout the tough time. Blaine and Tina had become quite close since their boyfriends graduated, and so Blaine could count on Tina to cheer him up whenever he got too down thinking about Kurt. However, this happened quite often. Mr Schuester had convinced Blaine to start visiting Miss Pillsbury for weekly therapy sessions, to help him through his problems, but Blaine still really struggled.

It was a shame that his senior year was so tainted by the sadness and depression that came from his loneliness, but nevertheless Blaine managed to have all his High School experiences as anyone else would. The Glee club won Sectionals, and Regionals, and went to Nationals in LA where they even managed to place third. He went to his Senior Prom, and although he was alone he still had a good time, performing for most of the night and dancing with Tina. Although, it did bring around a lot of negative memories of the Dinosaur Prom from the year before, this of course led to memories of Kurt…

Blaine graduated top of his class, which made his parents prouder than they had ever been of him. He even managed to get a scholarship to the LA Music Academy, where he got his Associate of Arts Degrees in Vocal Artist Development and Guitar Performance. His years at LAMA were incredibly enjoyable, and although he always had the thought of Kurt at the back of his mind, Blaine began to think he could move on. There were plenty of distractions at college, with work and friends and parties, and on top of all this he met Amber.

Amber was kind, interesting, talented, funny, not to mention beautiful, and Blaine made fast friends with her. One night when they and their other friends were all out drinking for somebody's birthday, Amber was quite drunk and revealed to Blaine that she really liked him even though it was hopeless as he was gay. But, Blaine decided to take a leap of faith and kiss her right then, and he thought he felt a spark. Blaine wasn't sure whether it was just because he hadn't kissed anyone for so long; not since long before he and Kurt even broke up, but that kiss meant something and it occurred to Blaine that maybe he was bisexual. He knew he was definitely not straight; he loved Kurt too much.

Blaine dated Amber for around eight months, but it didn't last. They grew apart and broke up, and after that Blaine started dating again. However, from that point on, he only dated girls. He couldn't seem to fall for any more guys, and although everyone said he must just be straight and his High School homosexuality was 'just a phase', Blaine knew that it was just because he knew deep in his heart that no man could ever replace Kurt. Girls were different; Blaine never felt as deeply for them as he had for Kurt, but dating another man would feel like a betrayal to both Kurt and himself. Blaine didn't want to open up his heart quite as wide as he had for Kurt to let another man in, because his wounds hadn't healed and opening up would only mean more pain. But, when he was at least with a girl he could feel even a little bit loved again, even though he couldn't fully love them back.

After a while of dating girls, Blaine came to understand that he was definitely gay, but he kept up his act of being 'bisexual' just to avoid his friends' questions and so that he would have the company of a girlfriend, even if it didn't mean that much to him.

After finishing college, Blaine stayed in California in order to try to make it big in the music industry. He played whenever and wherever he could, and went to countless auditions, getting some minor roles in several different productions. He had a lot of fun and gained lots of experience, even managing to earn some money and make some friends along the way. California was perfect for Blaine; he loved the weather and the relaxed vibe, with busy days filled with work and calm nights filled with music. He spent many a night with a group of friends and a guitar around a crackling fire on a cool beach, just relaxing to the sound of his friends' chatter, his guitar, and the water crashing in small waves on the sand. As his brother Cooper had once said, LA was where everything was at, and Blaine even managed to start to forget Kurt.

But, after a while Blaine began to realise that he couldn't spend the rest of his life lying on a beach and playing music in coffee shops and theme parks for a living. He had to do something, and he had to do it quick, or he would fail at his dream to perform. So, Blaine decided to move to New York.

New York had never been that great a dream, but when Blaine really thought about it, he thought it would be an amazing place to go, and a logical next step in his career. There was just one problem – Kurt lived in New York.

At least, Blaine thought he did, he hadn't got a clue what Kurt had done in the last couple of years, for all he knew Kurt could have moved away already and be on the other side of the world. But Blaine had a feeling that Kurt was still in New York, and that it was his fate to want to go back there so he could find Kurt again. Blaine knew that he should really have been over Kurt, but he still missed him, so much.

* * *

"I missed your sweet voice whispering in my ear, your strong arms around me, your soft kisses, and your gentle touch. I just... missed you. Even after all that time."

* * *

When Blaine got to New York, he settled in quite quickly. He got a job in a music store, and even began giving guitar and piano lessons. He enjoyed his work there, he found it very fulfilling to pass on his musical gifts to other people, and if he could never perform he thought teaching was perfect for him. He even got a few gigs every now and then, and didn't hear anything of Kurt for a long time.

Until one day, when Blaine was waiting for his friend at an audition for the new Broadway Musical: Risking It with a New Yorker, Blaine heard it. Kurt's voice. He would recognise the soft and beautiful tones of the gorgeous countertenor anywhere, and hearing it through the door to that audition room… It almost killed him. He couldn't breathe, and he couldn't believe that he had managed to find Kurt again after all this time.

He had signed up for an audition right there and then, and that time the next week, he was standing in the same room that Kurt had and singing for all he was worth. He HAD to get the part. It was inevitable that Kurt would get a part; he was breathtaking and was perfect for the part. Blaine needed to get a part too so that he could see Kurt again, so that he could talk to him and touch him and just _be _with him once more. He was desperate, and he almost disliked Kurt for what he was doing to him, it was like he had waited until Blaine was almost happy again, and then walked right back into his life. Blaine really wished he could go back to the day he had first met Kurt, and just walk away. It would have saved him so much hurt and pain. But at the same time, he was so glad that it was him Kurt had chosen to ask for help on that staircase at Dalton. Because although the worst experiences of his life had been caused by Kurt, so had all the best ones.

* * *

"Even though I had promised myself I wouldn't risk the chance of getting hurt again, for some reason, when I'm with you, it all seems worth it." Blaine finished his story, and looked up into Kurt's eyes for the first time since he had started. He knew that it was a bad idea to spill his heart like this, but after holding it all in all that time, Blaine just had to tell Kurt. He had to let Kurt know how he truly felt so that he could find out if Kurt felt the same. He stared at Kurt, a little scared, and waited anxiously for Kurt's response.

Instead of shouting, or rejecting Blaine, or telling him that he was a desperate creep like Blaine had expected, Kurt just sighed and stood up. Blaine was terrified, he thought he had scared Kurt off by letting him know just how screwed up he was inside, even after all this time, but really Kurt just needed to get away from the closeness to Blaine so that he could think clearly. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes for a second, before whispering, "… I'm sorry Blaine. I am so, so sorry. More sorry than you can ever know. But I am so confused and I really just don't know what to do right now. There's just so much stress at the moment with Michael and Jason and you and the show… I can't let myself into all this drama at the moment. I can't… I can't let myself fall for you again."

Blaine looked shocked at this. Kurt was falling for him again? Did that mean he had a chance? But Kurt didn't want to fall for him. He didn't want to love Blaine, because he knew how much pain he had caused him before, and didn't want it to happen again.

"Kurt, I just wanted you to know the truth. And I'm so, so sorry that I've hurt you so much and fucked up your life again, but I really needed you to know and wanted you to try to understand me, and what I've gone through these past years because, Kurt… Kurt I'm still so very in love with you."

* * *

**DUN DUN DUN… Cliffhanger! ;D Chapter 6 will most likely be up tomorrow or the day after. Please Review!**


	6. Home Again

**LAST CHAPTER! I have spent so long on this even though it's really short, I wanted the ending to be perfect and I'm happy with it now. I hope you are too!**

Kurt couldn't take in what Blaine was saying. He had been thinking of Kurt for all this time? Blaine looked so fragile and desperate, on the cusp of literally throwing himself at Kurt's feet, begging for forgiveness and closure and… love. Blaine was still in love with him. _Blaine was still in love with him._ Kurt's heart was beating almost out of his chest, his ears were pounding and he couldn't breath. He felt tears flood to his eyes as the weight of things came crashing over him, and he stood staring at the small, broken man in front of him, until he couldn't take it any more.

He turned and ran out of the apartment, putting his head into his hands and sobbing as he did so. He heard Blaine call his name and curse under his breath, but Kurt just kept running. He ran out of Blaine's apartment building and down the street, only wanting to go to one place. He didn't want Blaine to love him; he didn't want to love Blaine back!

But he was starting to think that he might.

He didn't want to talk to Michael either, so he couldn't go back to their apartment. He made his way down the busy streets, gaining odd looks and worried glances as he cried his eyes out, but he didn't care. When he finally got to Central Park, he made his way over to the spot that he had visited several times in the past, whenever he was feeling particularly stressed or upset. There was a large willow tree, whose branches hung down so low and thick that you couldn't see the trunk of the tree. Pushing through the leaves, he found himself in a peaceful and secluded spot, and collapsed to the ground, leaning against the broad tree trunk. He sat there and just cried his heart out, letting everything collapse around him. _What is going on with me? _He was shocked; Blaine had been back a week and a half. That was all the time it had taken for him to bring Kurt to this sobbing, confused wreck. Surely that said something, that he was able to have this effect even after such a short space of time?

It was like something out of a cheesy romcom, and Kurt felt ridiculous; surely he was overreacting. But something inside him said _no, this has been long coming and you know it, Kurt._ He sat under that tree for god knows how long, with one thing on his mind: Blaine. He could hear people moving and talking and laughing outside of his secret spot, but nobody seemed to notice that there was a distraught man sitting under the tree that day. They all continued with their daily lives, as if nothing was wrong in the world. As if Kurt's heart wasn't aching for Blaine, but worried about what to do about it. As if Michael wasn't confusing matters further, but at the same time making Kurt think that it was a sign that he and Blaine should be together. As if on top of all this, Kurt still had the show to think about, with all his commitments to it and how much relied on it.

After a while, Kurt's mobile began to vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and looked at the caller ID; it was Rachel. Kurt really wasn't in the mood to talk to her, so he cut her off, but a few seconds later he received a text message from her: _Don't you dare cut me off, Hummel. I need to talk to you about Blaine and the party. Actually more importantly YOU need to talk to ME. _

Kurt sighed, and dialled Rachel's number. She answered before the first ring had even ended. "Kurt, I know what happened with you and Blaine in his apartment, he was just talking to me about it. He is absolutely destroyed, Kurt. I've never seen anything like it; he wasn't even this bad when you two first broke up! This is so crazy Kurt, and you need to get your skinny ass into gear and sort things out."

"Rachel. Did you ever stop to think that maybe this has upset me too? Michael virtually dumped me earlier, and now Blaine's told me that he still loves me, and I have no idea what to do AT ALL, and we've got Risking It to think about… I feel like I've stepped into a mixture of a romcom and a horror movie!"

"Oh, Kurt… Look, come to my place and we'll have ice cream and a chat. I'll kick Finn out for a bit, we need groceries anyway. Please?"

"… Sure. Whatever. I'll be there in ten." Kurt hung up and sighed, Rachel Berry was insane, but he really did appreciate her help. _Man my life is a mess…_

Kurt knocked on Rachel's door; he had forgotten his keys, and she opened it almost immediately. Seeing his red eyes and tear stained cheeks, she immediately pulled him into a hug and walked him into the living room. He took a seat on the soft sofas, as Rachel disappeared into the kitchen only to return moments later with two pots of Ben and Jerry's and some spoons. Kurt thanked her as he took the ice cream, and the pair sat there for a moment, enjoying the ice cream and silence, until Rachel spoke up.

"Kurt… Do you, you know, still like him too?" She looked carefully at Kurt, whose eyes were on the floor.

"Honestly…" he took a shaking breath, "I don't know. For so long I hated him, for what he did to me in my first year of college, and all the stuff with Jason… But since then I've just started missing him. And then this past week, with him back here… It's all too much to handle. I can see how upset he still is, and I don't want to make it even worse by taking him back but realising later that it's not what I want."

"Wait, so, you are considering taking him back?"

"No. Yes? Maybe… I don't know."

"It looks to me that you're still really confused which is understandable, I've gone through similar troubles with Finn before but never this bad so it's quite hard for me to sympathise, but I am doing my best to understand and I promise I'll help you through this, okay Kurt?"

Kurt looked at Rachel, surprised. She was being uncharacteristically nice. "What do you think I should do, Rachel?"

"If I were you, honestly I'd get back together with him. I think you've seen how much he still cares for you, and with Michael dumping you,"

"He hasn't dumped me. He said we should take a break."

"… Yeah, but with that any way, and the way you obviously still feel about Blaine… I think you need to just take a leap of faith here and give it a go. The worse thing that can happen is that you just go back to the way you were before you got back together, right?" Surprisingly, Rachel was making a lot of sense, and Kurt truly did still care about Blaine. "Besides, it will definitely help your onstage chemistry, and so the show will benefit too – then everybody's happy."

Kurt contemplated Rachel's words for a moment, before taking another spoonful of ice cream and looking out of the window. He stared out at the street, churning options over in his mind. He narrowed it down to 4 possible outcomes:

1 – He got back together with Blaine, and it didn't work out so they broke up again and carried on, Kurt going back to Michael and Blaine finally moving on.

2 – He didn't get back together with him, and instead he and Michael ended their break and went back to the happy life they had before this whole thing began.

3 – He didn't get back together with Blaine, and instead turned over a new page and moved on from both him and Michael.

4 – He got back together with Blaine, and they were happy for the rest of their lives.

By the time he had finished his ice cream, Kurt had made a decision. He thanked Rachel for the advice, and told her that he was going to see Michael, because he needed to make sure of his position with him before he could do anything. He left her house, and made his way back home.

He found Michael sitting on the sofa, and to Kurt's surprise, Jason was there too. Jason jumped when Kurt walked in, and went to stand up, but Michael held him down. "Hello, Kurt," said Michael, "I need to talk to you."

"I need to talk to you too. Jason, do you think you could give us a minute?" Jason looked startled, but stood up, nodded, and left the room nervously.

"So I see you've been talking to Jason?"

"Yeah… I told him about you and I, and he told me that after his first week at the restaurant, he's unsure as well but he thinks he might… Well he thinks he might like me." Michael looked apologetically up to Kurt, who just kept a straight face and pursed his lips, before replying.

"And, you like him?"

"… I think so. But I want you to know that I still love you, Kurt."

"No you don't." Kurt shocked both of them with his response, but it was true and they both knew it. "When you're in love with someone, all you think about is them. You can't get them off your mind and you would never even consider having feelings for somebody else, because you care about the one you're in love with too much. And from this, Michael, I can safely say that… I don't love you any more. I did once, a long time ago, but I think we can both see that we weren't meant to be." Kurt looked at the floor, and shuffled his feet awkwardly, waiting for Michael's response.

Michael was a little shocked by what Kurt had said, but he was even more shocked by the fact that Kurt was right. He didn't even feel that bad about admitting his growing interest in Jason; obviously that showed that he didn't love Kurt anymore. "I… You're right Kurt. I guess I was just too afraid to admit to myself that I don't love you anymore."

"Well I'm glad we could clear this up. And now, I'm leaving you Michael. For good. I can stay with Rachel and Finn until I find somewhere else, so don't worry about me." Kurt gulped; this was so surreal but he could feel in his heart that it was the right thing to do. "I have to do something first, but I'll be back later for my things. Goodbye, Michael. Good luck with Jason."

Kurt left the apartment, trying to keep his breath steady and his head high. That was it. He'd done it. After all these years, the whole thing had come crashing down around them in one week. This just showed how weak their relationship really was; even if they both pretended that it was strong and stable. He'd broken up with Michael, and now there was only one thing to do: Visit Blaine.

Kurt knocked on Blaine's apartment door, but he heard nothing from inside. He knocked again, and waited for a minute or so, but still he heard no response. He sighed, and just as he was about to leave, he heard a noise from inside the apartment.

The door opened slowly, and a very rumpled Blaine peeked his head out into the corridor. His hair was a mess, and he had changed into sweats and T shirt. His face looked miserable, and when he noticed Kurt his expression drooped even further. "What do you want Kurt? Here to rub in how pathetic and alone I am?"

Kurt's heart broke at the sight of the broken man before him, knowing that he had caused all this pain when he didn't need to was just awful. Kurt did something next that he wasn't sure he ever consciously decided on doing, he was sure his body just moved out of pure animal instinct.

He took three runs straight up to Blaine, wrapped his arms around the familiar frame, and crushed their lips together in a matter of milliseconds. Kurt felt Blaine tense beneath him, so he pulled back slightly, panic and apology written all over his face. When Blaine saw Kurt, really saw him for the first time since he'd been back, he could see that Kurt had finally realised that they were made for each other and that he was sorry for all the pain he had caused.

Blaine cupped Kurt's face gently, and brought their lips back together again but more softly this time. "I've missed this… Missed you." He whispered against Kurt's soft lips, and the two men walked into the apartment where they fell onto the couch and just lay there kissing and holding each other, a tangle of limbs and soft words, all held together with the burning love that each man felt for the other. As soon as their lips had touched, they felt like they were coming home; like the world had finally started spinning in the right direction again.

When Blaine finally came back to his senses, he sat up against Kurt's smooth chest and nestled into him, breathing in the familiar scent that he had missed so much. "What about Michael?" He asked, slightly worried for the answer.

"We broke up," Kurt said, a smile on his lip, "this is where I belong. With you. I'm sorry it took me so long to realise it, but I'm sure now – this is my home, and this is where I'll stay."

"I love you," Blaine said, kissing Kurt again.

"I love you too."

**Ta da! The end, I really hope you liked the ending as much as I did – KLAINE ARE FINALLY BACK TOGETHER! I knew they were always meant to be, and I was so happy to finally write them back together :')**

**There will be an epilogue after this, then that's the complete end. O.O Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed, or favourited this story already – it means so much. I'm going to start a more fluffy and romantic story next I think, because this one has been very angsty :P Keep your eyes peeled!**

**Thanks, please review!**

**_D . Gleek_**


	7. Epilogue

Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson were Broadway sensations.

'Risking It with a New Yorker' was a massive success, and it won several awards for being 'Best New Musical', 'Most Inspirational Story', and such like. Kurt and Blaine also won awards, Blaine being voted as the year's 'Best Uprising Star'.

But, when the show was over and the excitement died down, Kurt and Blaine came down off of their Cloud 9 and settled into what was now their life – a life together. They stayed in Blaine's apartment for a while, but it soon became obvious that it was too small for them both. They decided to buy a small bungalow, just two blocks away from Rachel and Finn's house. For a while neither of them had a major performing job, they didn't see anything worth auditioning for, and they both wanted to focus on their newly renewed relationship and getting their life together built. Michael was very gracious about his and Kurt's break-up, and although he and Jason didn't actually start dating he seemed happier. He even let Blaine perform in his restaurant often, turning Friday evenings into 'Music Night', which turned out to be a great hit. Kurt performed as well sometimes, but Blaine turned out to become a crowd favourite.

Jason and Michael became very close friends, but they agreed not to date due to the fact that they would be working together in Michael's restaurant every day. Kurt was pretty sure that they were 'friends with benefits', but even so, they were both happy and that was all that mattered. Michael's restaurant continued to thrive and gain popularity, and after a year of success he opened up a second branch on the other side of the city, making Jason the manager and head chef there. Admittedly, Jason was incredibly clumsy, but he really was a fantastic chef.

Blaine was ecstatic that he and Kurt were finally back together. He had spent five years feeling lost and empty, desperately trying to fill up the hole in his heart but at the same time wanting it to stay just so he could keep the memories of Kurt. Now that they were back together though, the hole was sealed with the power of Kurt's requited love, and he was able to grow. He and Kurt went back to being like they were in High School – hopelessly fawning over each other at every opportunity – but they were more mature this time. They were completely open with each other so that they faced no more major issues like they had back then, and this made their fresh relationship stronger still. Kurt was happier than he had been in a long time, it taking the feelings he had around Blaine to realise what he had been missing with Michael.

It was really going to work this time, they were sure of it and although they had had issues both men were sure that they were meant to be together and that nothing could drag them away from each other again. They took it slow, but at the same time their relationship was filled with a new passion, knowing that they had overcome so much to be together again. They reminded each other every day of how in love they were, and it was after a year and half of being more and more in love every single day, that Kurt decided to take the next step.

Kurt took a deep breath, and stroked the velvet of the small blue box in his hands. Blaine was in the bathroom taking a shower before they went out to dinner for his birthday, and Kurt was sitting on the edge of the bed, playing with the box.

That box, it held everything. It held a symbol of Kurt's love and devotion to Blaine, it held a promise that that love would last till the day they died, it held a declaration of the passion and emotion that Kurt felt inside his heart every second he was around Blaine. It held a promise of a future that they could have. A beautiful future for them to share.

Kurt heard the water of the shower turn off, and he jumped up to take a last look in the mirror. He was wearing his best suit, a plain black Armani ensemble, with a red rose tucked into the button hole, and a red tie around his neck. He ran a nervous hand through his hair, and then flailed madly trying to put it back into its perfect place. When finally reassured that everything was perfect, he put the velvet box into his inside breast pocket, patting it gently to make sure it was securely held in there.

Blaine came out of the bathroom and Kurt had to take a deep breath at the view. Blaine was still slightly wet, water dripping from his luscious curls and running down his muscular back, stopping at the towel wrapped loosely around his hips. He rooted around in the wardrobe for a minute, pulling out his own suit that reminded Kurt of his dapper Dalton uniform, and turned around to see Kurt staring. He grinned, "Like what you see, Hummel?" and with a wink he stripped off the towel in order to dry himself properly. Kurt swallowed, realising that his mouth had been wide open, and stepped out of the bedroom to give Blaine some privacy and clear his head of his entirely inappropriate thoughts.

When they got to the restaurant later that evening, Kurt and Blaine ordered their drinks and starters, before Kurt excused himself for a moment. Stepping into the corridor that led to bathrooms, he sent a quick message to three of his closest friends. Then he snuck back into the main room of the restaurant, careful not to let Blaine see him, and exchanged a few words with one of the waiters.

Just then, the lights dimmed, and as everybody in the restaurant glanced around confused, Kurt took a deep breath and stepped up onto the small stage that stood in the corner of the room. He walked up to the mic, and a spotlight shined down on him. He looked across the room and spotted Blaine looking at him, a shocked but interested look on his face and a small smile playing around his lips.

"First of all," Began Kurt, looking across everyone sitting in the restaurant, "My name is Kurt Hummel, and I'd like to say a huge happy birthday to my wonderful boyfriend, Blaine Anderson. I love you honey." Everybody smiled and a couple of people said small 'awww's, and the room clapped as Blaine grinned widely. "But now I have something much more important to say," the room silenced again and a confused look spread across Blaine's face, "Something that is so important to me that I don't think I can just say it. So instead, I'm going to sing it."

Finn, Rachel, and Mercedes stepped up from apparently nowhere and joined Kurt on the stage. Kurt nodded to the waiter he had spoken to earlier, and he pressed a button on a machine that began playing some slow but happy music. Kurt began singing right away, with the three others on stage singing back up oohs and ahhs and swaying. Kurt had slightly modified the lyrics to fit his situation, but the song was still beautiful.

_The snow is falling, the city is white  
Your eyes are shining like diamonds tonight  
And we're all alone  
There's no one home  
You're finally in my arms again  
The night is silent  
and we are both here  
I couldn't ask for more than having you near  
Cuz I love you boy,  
I always will  
And now I know the moment is right_

Blaine couldn't keep the enormous grin off of his face as he sat staring at his beautiful boyfriend who was staring right back at him. Blaine's heart faltered as he heard the chorus and he finally realised what this song meant. **  
**_  
Cuz I've been waiting to give this gift tonight  
I'm down on my knees, there's no better time  
It's something to last for as long as you live  
Tonight I'm going to give you (oh boy!) all my heart can give!  
_

_I thought I'd give you something shiny and new  
I tried to find something worthy of you  
But I realized, when I looked inside  
There's some things that money can't buy!  
Oh no!  
I feel the magic, whenever you're near  
I feel it even more this time of the year  
Cuz I love you boy  
I always will  
And now I know the moment is right_**  
**

During the second verse, Kurt had stepped off the stage and made his way across the room slowly to Blaine, all eyes following him. He arrived next to Blaine's table and sunk to one knee, singing out the chorus again as Blaine's eyes filled with tears of joy.**  
**_  
Cuz I've been waiting to give this gift tonight!  
I'm down on my knees, there's no better time  
It's something to last for as long as you live  
Tonight I'm going to give you all my heart can give!_

_You know I'll always be true to you  
And you know I'm the one you can turn to  
Oh oh yeah  
Any time, any place, or anywhere  
you know that I'll always be there!_

Kurt pulled his hands from Blaine's, and he stood up again, the three backup singers surrounding him and joining in to belt out the final chorus. Blaine couldn't hold back the sobs of joy as he laughed lovingly at Kurt's amazing gesture._Cuz I've been waiting to give this gift tonight  
I'm down on my knees, there's no better time  
It's something to last for as long as you live  
Tonight I'm going to give you all my heart can give_

_Cuz I've been waiting to give this gift tonight  
I'm down on my knees, there's no better time  
It's something to last for as long as you live  
Tonight I'm going to give you all my heart can give._

As the music slowed and faded out, the restaurant erupted into applause and cheers, as Kurt knelt down onto one knee again. He reached into his pocket, and Blaine took a sharp intake of breath as he pulled out a blue velvet box.

He held it open, showing Blaine a beautiful ring. It was simple but gorgeous, a white gold ring with small diamonds laid out in a dainty pattern across the top. Finn, Rachel, and Mercedes all grinned as Kurt said, voice thick with emotion, "Blaine Anderson, I love you with all my heart. I always have and I always will. Please will you do me the amazing honour of becoming my husband?"

Blaine choked out a sob as he nodded his head frantically and held out his hand for Kurt to push the ring onto. "Yes!" He finally managed to choke out, "Yes yes yes yes yes! Oh Kurt, I love you so much!" Tears streamed down his face as he pulled Kurt up and embraced him in a soft but passionate kiss. Their lips moulded together perfectly, and both boys tasted the salty bite of tears, but they didn't care. The moment was too perfect, and the room erupted into immense applause again.

They were finally where they belonged again, and it was all because they had decided on risking it with a New Yorker.

* * *

**It's done! I really enjoyed writing this, even if it was a bit depressing at times, and I really hope everyone enjoyed reading it. I want to thank each and every one of you who reviewed, favourited, or followed me or the story - it's really appreciated. A special thankyou to Rene95 who was my first reviewer and stuck with the story giving brilliant advice and encouragement all the way through, thanks! :)**

**There will be a sequel to this I think, but I haven't got down to really planning it yet so I have no idea where it's going to go. Hopefully it will be a little longer too, and more fluffy! 3 Please read it when I get around to writing it!**

**Love you all lots! xxx**


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